The Roads We Travel and The Lives We Once Lived
by Brambleeyes
Summary: Sequel to my first BM fic. After accepting his new life in Shattuck, Jess now finds himself slowly adjusting to the small town life, while Bobby prepares for graduation and Jack and Ennis take even greater steps in their relationship.
1. Spring: Chapter 1

**Authors Note: hey everyone, missed me? If my calculations are correct, its has been about…six or so months since my first BM fic ended. I have taken that time to, once again, formulate a loose story line for my sequel. Now, I will say it first and foremost, that this one is going to be a bit different from the first. For the sequel, it's going to be a bit less moody, a tad less angsty, and sort of on the light side. But don't fear, this isn't going to turn into some dreaded sequel that pales to the first, I'm going to make sure to keep well in lines with both my fic and the original canon. So with this first chapter, I hope you all enjoy, as well as the many to come.**

* * *

It was morning now. The sun had just arisen, the temperature outside a pleasantly cool 60 degrees on this March morning. Already you could feel it in the air. The long months of winter were drawing to a close and spring was just around the corner.

Inside the small kitchen, Jess walked over to the sink, taking one last sip of his coffee before dumping out the rest down the pipe. He still wore those loose baggy jeans, the assorted wristbands, and of course, the band t-shirt (this time, Depeche Mode). He still had the same scrawny build and his hair was still short and spiky, basically looking much like he did the very first day he arrived here.

Looking out the kitchen window, he too noticed just how nice a day it was out, sunlight casting the entire ranch in a pleasant spring glow.

Turning to the door, he slipped on his faded brown sneakers, walking out onto the porch. It was really a nice day out and from what he judged, he still had plenty of time left. He figured it wouldn't hurt to go out for just a little.

Beginning to walk down the dirt path, he heard someone call for him.

"Jess!" turning, he spotted Bobby just a few lengths from him "where are ya goin'?"

"Just a walk" he replied, still walking backwards as he faced him "such a good day out, don't want it to go to waste".

"But what about-"

"Relax Bobby, I'll be back before he gets here" he replied, "I'll just be a few, okay?"

Bobby kicked at the ground "N'all right, but be back soon, okay? You haven't exactly been known for keepin' on time with things. And if Jack and Ennis-".

"Bobby" Jess said, still walking "don't worry so much, I'll be back".

"fine, but I'm holdin' to yer word!" he called to him as Jess turned around.

Giving him a wave of his hand in response, he continued down the road.

A few minutes of walking and he had arrived on the main road, turning south towards the main area of town, still looking like something out of _The Last Picture Show_.

There weren't that many people out, but that still didn't stop most of them from staring.

You think they'd be used to me by now, Jess thought as he passed an elderly couple.

Turning down one of the alleyways, he kept a steady pace till he arrived at the soccer field. Once again, the place was deserted, Jess never once seeing any person in town ever coming here just to play a game.

Quickly walking to the other side, he spotted a red haired girl sitting under the shade of large tree just beginning to sprout its leaves.

"Hey there Lois" Jess said as he neared her.

She turned her head in response to his voice, bright smile crossing her face "hey their Jess".

"Mind if I take a seat?" he indicated next to her.

"Go ahead, s'all yours".

Sitting down, he looked over the sketchbook in her hand "anything new?"

"Just the regular sun rise" she said "but there's somethin' about spring that makes them so much more lovely, don't cha think?"

"They all look the same to me" he replied.

"Not unless ya open yer eyes and see the big picture" she said.

"Maybe some other time" he said.

She rolled her eyes "all right, yer lose then. So when's James comin' back?"

"Should be today" he replied.

"That's nice" she said "was getting' kinda lonely without him here".

"Ain't like he says to much" Jess said.

"But that's what I like about him" she said "kind of a welcome change. After all, he's kinda like the mediator in our little group, sort of the balance between such extreme personalities".

"Let me guess, we're those extremist?" he asked.

"Technically, you're the extreme one, I'm jus' the girl who won't shut up" she replied.

"I take that as a compliment" he said, leaning against the tree.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes, Lois providing that pleasant chatter that Jess loved so much. It was one of the few times that he actually welcomed the quiet.

Then it hit him "oh shit!" he hissed, quickly getting to his feet "sorry about this Lois but I have to go, talk to ya later, all right?"

"Okay" she said, bit put off by this sudden show "what's so important that ya have to go all of a sudden?"

"Social worker's coming" he said "there for his check up. not much of a point of him being their if his client is M.I.A".

"Well, good luck!" she called as he began to run across the field "and don't forget to call!"

"Will do!" he called back, disappearing back down the alley, racing out into the street and heading north back to the ranch.

* * *

A lot had changed in the past three months.

The most drastic change? Jess's personality, of course. As soon as he and Ennis had returned from New York, there was just a whole new side of him. No longer was he Jess, the jaded, sarcastic, angry, disgruntled, rebellious teen but just regular Jess, the one that up until recently only Bobby, Lois, and James had seen. No more barbed comments, no more outburst, no icy persona, pretty much all the armor that had been built up from his very first day in Shattuck had just completely dropped. He still could not get used to the whole small town thing, his heart always belonging to a large, crowded city like New York and as far as he was concerned, nothing was going to change that. A minor set back but still managable. But other then that, for the first time in months, Jess felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders and now he found himself free all that baggage he had been carrying around. He found himself free.

Another big change would have to be Jack and Ennis's ever-growing business. Now having expanded to parts outside of Oklahoma, they were seeing income that just months ago they would have never dreamed to have seen in their whole lives. But by the looks of the place, no one would have seen too much off a difference. Maybe a bit of an increase in the farm land and a couple new furniture pieces but other then that, everything looked about as normal as can be.

James and Lois soon became fast friends. Once winter break was over, Jess was quick to introduce the two of them during their ritual lunch. At first, James was a bit put off by Lois, but after a few more lunches and a couple nights at the drive in and the two of them had gotten used to the other ones presence, even if he found her a little bit...weird.

But other then those three things, nothing much else had changed in the small town of Shattuck. Every person, every animal, every single aspect of the small town continued on as usual as if nothing had happened.

And today, like any other, would just be another ordinary day.

* * *

Just as Jess came to the end of the road, he saw the parked black car just beginning to open its door, out stepping his social worker.

"hey uh…Lance!" Jess said as he neared, his name just popping into his head.

"ah, there you are Jessie" the man said, bit surprised by his sudden appearance "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time".

"No no, it's cool" he replied, "I was just out for a walk, that's all".

"oh" Lance said "all right then, um, shall we head inside?"

"yeah sure, sooner the better" Jess replied, the two of them heading into the house.

Taking a seat at the kitchen table, Lance pulled out something from the briefcase in his hand.

"so Jessie" he said, teeth taking off the top of his pen "its been a few months since I last saw you, so I just wanted to make sure things were going well".

"Okay" Jess said, already dreading what was to come as he remembered last times visit.

"So everything has been going fine?" he asked.

"Yeah" Jess replied "great actually".

"No problems with yer father?"

"Nope" he replied.

"And school is going good as well?"

Jess nodded "pretty good".

"and what about the…two Twist, Jack and Bobby, are they still around?" he asked.

"yep, still around" he said "no problems with them as well" he was quick to add that part so he could spare the trouble of being asked.

"Anythin' significant happen since last time?" he asked.

"Well, my dad and his business partner have expanded their ranch work" he said "and I got my drivers license just a few days ago". Jess was particularly proud of that fact, no longer having to rely on Jack or Ennis or Bobby or anyone else to have to cart him around town.

"But other then that, nothin' much else has changed" Jess finished.

"All right then" Lance said, jotting down a few more notes, "so you're just about settled in now?"

"Pretty much so, yeah" he replied "there are still a few things to get used to but as far as I can see, I'm pretty much about as good as expected".

Scribbling down a few more things, the front door opened and Ennis came walking in.

"Oh" he said, seeing the two of them in the kitchen "uh, sorry, didn't mean ta interrupt".

"oh, that's all right Mr. Del Mar" the man said, getting up from the table "me and Jess are jus' about done here. All I need is to ask ya a few questions and I'll be done here".

"well, that's good" he said "so does this mean that Jess is gonna stay here permanently then?"

"from what I can see" he said "there's nothin' much else to report. So after today, I won't be comin' down here for anymore visits".

Ennis had a joyful look on his face at the news of this "well, that's great ta hear".

Lance nodded "so, do ya mind if I talked ta you and Mr. Twist?"

He shuffled on his feet "um, what for?"

"It's jus' the standard procedure" he said "really, it won't be too much of a hassle".

Ennis gave sigh "okay then, um…why don't ya follow me and we can get Jack?"

"Sure" he replied "oh and Jess, jus' remember, should ya need anything, don't hesitate to call".

"Will do" he replied.

As the two men headed out the door, Bobby squeezed past them as they exited.

"So?" he asked.

"Verdict is" Jess said "I'm staying for good".

"That's so great!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Easy their tiger" Jess said "I mean come on, did ya really expect me to leave? Hell no!"

"Can't blame me for bein' excited" he replied "this is great news".

"Yes it is" Jess said, slinging his arm around Bobby's shoulder "and I think now is the perfect time to celebrate this momentous event".

* * *

Ennis was sitting down at the couch, TV on some news program that he was only half paying attention to.

"Hey there" he heard Jack's voice from behind him, arms draping around him, his lips on his neck.

"Hey yourself" he replied, turning his face towards Jack's, lightly giving him a kiss.

Flashing him one of those dazzling smiles, Jack hopped over the couch to sit next to him, arms still wrapped around him.

"So what did the guy ask yeah?" Ennis asked.

"Oh, jus' the usual stuff" he replied "bout me, Jess, work, all that stuff, nothin' to big. You?"

"Same here" he replied.

"But ain't this great?" Jack asked "this means he's truly stayin'!"

"And before didn't count?" he asked.

"Absolutely not" he replied, giving him another kiss "cause back then, he was a little dick who wanted nothin' to do with us. Now things are different and with the ranch going so well and now this news, I say that makes it official".

Leaning in for another kiss, he wrapped his arms tight around Ennis, his hands traveling down his back, reaching beneath his pants to get a firm grasp on his ass.

"Hmm, Jack" Ennis said, pulling his lips away "can't this wait for a bit?"

"I won't go all the way" he said, giving him another kiss "jus' enough to tide ya over till then" pushing into him, he lowered Ennis to the couch, his kisses going deeper and longer.

Ennis wrapped his arms around him, no longer fighting anymore. One hand grabbing chunks of hair, the other gently resting on Jack's ass.

"Oh god, get a room you two" he heard Jess's voice cut in.

Jack laughed "sorry about that Jess" he replied, reluctantly pulling himself off of Ennis.

"You know, there's a reason why god invented the bedroom," he said, "so that he may shield innocent children from the horrors of grown up sex".

"Hey, it's my house" he replied "and if I want to make out with the love of my life, I most certainly will".

"Very cute" Jess said, "Anyway, dinner is ready, so come on".

Ever since Jess's change, he had put himself in charge of dinner duty. And though no one would say it out loud but his cooking defiantly beat the hell out of Jack's, so really no one objected to this new switch.

"Bobby, dinner!" Jess yelled up the steps.

The two men sat down next to each other, Bobby appearing a few moments later to take the spot next to Jack, Jess taking his usual spot. Tonight's meal was Jess's chicken Parmesan, one that was quite popular around the house.

"Hmm" Bobby said as he took a bite "once again Jess, you did it again".

"Useless talent number 34" he replied "just one of my many other useless gifts".

"I think we should have a toast," Jack said "in honor of such a special day".

"Oh, toasts are so corny" Jess said.

"Jess" Ennis said.

"Fine, fine" he said, "if we must".

"All right then" Jack said, raising his glass "a toast, to Jess becomin' an official member of this family and for everythin' that we have been blessed with these past months".

"Here here" Jess said, all four of them clinking their glasses together.

"So then I take things are going well with that ranch up in Kansas?" Bobby asked.

"Jus' about" Ennis said "still need to work out a couple of things with the rancher but so far, he seems on board with joinin' us".

"Wow, another deal" Jess said "keep this up and you'll become even bigger then that Denison guy".

"Yeah dad, what ever happened ta that guy?" Bobby asked, "For awhile there, he was pretty determined to take you two down".

"Oh, he was" Jack said "but after some time, he realized no amount of smart talkin' was gonna stop us from expanding on his territory".

"Ain't like we even wanted a fight in the first place" Ennis said "I jus' think he was sore that we disagreed with handin' our business over ta him".

"Oh what a fickle world we live in" Jess said, "one bad deal and he holds a grudge. So very childish".

The rest of the dinner continued in this manner, all four of them talking over various topics that they could think off. It was a vast change from the dinners of the first few months, when things were silent, awkward, Jess prone to lash out at the three men, basically having a dark cloud over the entire dinner. But now, that was no more and things had gone back to the way they were before, only now with one more person.

"Great dinner" Jack said as he began to clear the table.

"Well, I try my best" Jess replied "glad you liked it".

Soon the entire table was cleared and the boys had disappeared upstairs to finish the last of their homework before going to bed.

Ennis was waiting in the living room while Jack finished up with the cleaning. Lazily flicking through the channels, he gave up after a few tries and turned it off, waiting patiently for Jack to finish.

Soon he came out of the kitchen "hey there" Ennis said, getting up "ya done?"

"Yeah" Jack said, face getting close to his, arms going around his waist "you ready ta go up?"

"Absolutely" Ennis replied, giving him a kiss, he returning it as well.

He let his hands go down, before hiking Jack up onto him, letting his legs wrap around his waist.

"Whoa" Jack said at this "a bit feisty tonight, aren't we?"

Ennis didn't reply, instead he continued up the steps and to the door that lead into their room. Using his foot, he kicked it open, before long making his way to the bed where he gently placed Jack down.

Both of them smiling, they kissed again, slow and passionate. After a few minutes of this, Ennis pulled away, looking down at this man who he loved so much, his heart almost bursting as he thought of just how lucky he was.

"You know what" he said.

"What?" Jack asked, fingers tracing random patterns on Ennis's face.

"I'm about the luckiest man in the world," he said.

"Oh? And what makes you say that?"

"I got you," he said, giving him another kiss "a son that finally appreciates me, a business of my own. Did I say I also have you?"

Jack gave a light laugh, "yeah, ya did".

With that said, Ennis leaned in once again, giving him another long kiss. Reaching around his neck, he pulled Jack close to him, burying his head into the crock of his shoulder.

"I love ya Jack," he whispered.

"I love ya too Ennis".


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of the alarm awoke Jess from his sleep. Rubbing at his eyes, he got out of bed on wobbly legs, making his way over to his dresser. Pulling out jeans and another one of his band t-shirts (Grateful Dead), he walked out of his room and headed down the stairs to the kitchen, the other three men there already.

"Morning ya'll" he said, going to grab his cup of coffee.

"Hey" they all replied.

"So Bobby" Jack said, "yer gonna stay after school today?"

"Yep" he replied "got practice today".

"And Jess" he said "we need yer help today on the farm".

"Sure" he replied, "think we should get going Bobby".

Quickly finishing his bowl of cereal, the two teens headed out of the front door, Jess climbing into the passengers seat while Bobby started up the car.

It took them just ten minutes to get to the high school, Jess thinking that the little brick building had gotten even smaller over spring break.

"Another day at this crap hole" Jess commented as they walked into the school "you know, I envy that you only have a few more months here".

"if I even make it that far" Bobby said.

"oh don't start with that again" Jess said "your grades been getting much better over the past few months".

"yeah, thanks to you" he said "and even so, there's still finals left".

"and we'll prepare for them" Jess replied "don't worry so much Bobby. And besides, those are still a long ways off. So until that time comes, don't start getting all panicky on me".

They had arrived at their lockers, Jess quickly turning the combination lock, grabbing all the books he would need for the first couple of hours. As he did, he couldn't help but spot Tammy Clark talking to a group of her friends across from them.

"hey" Jess said "look over there". as Bobby looked over, he too spotted her, whole body going limp.

"still have the hots for her huh?" Jess asked, Bobby nodding in response.

"and you still haven't asked her?" he said "I mean, its been months since she broke up with that dick Macarthur".

"I know that" Bobby said "I jus'…haven't found the right time".

"The right time?" Jess said, sighing in frustration "I swear Bobby, you're like broken record. There really is nothing hard about it, all you have to do is walk up to her and ask her out, really not hard. Besides, you did it once before, why is it so hard now?"

"I don't know" he said, closing his locker.

"That's it?" Jess said when he didn't go on.

"it's complicated, that's all" he replied.

Jess rolled his eyes "fine, have it your way then. See ya later"

"Yeah, see ya" and Bobby continued down the hall, while Jess turned into his first hour classroom.

Taking his seat, it wasn't but a few moments later till James walked into class, everyone angling their bodies as he passed.

"hey" Jess said as he took his seat next to him.

"hey" he replied.

"how was break?" he asked.

he shrugged "was all right, I guess".

Jess noticed something odd about his voice "what's wrong?"

"it nothin" he said.

"Sounds like something" Jess replied.

"Can we talk about this at lunch?" James said.

"Yeah, sure".

"I don' mean to sound rude or anythin" he said "I jus' want Lois to hear this too".

"Whoa, ominous much" Jess cracked, just as the teacher walked in "fine, lunch then".

As usual, the first half of the day dragged on, Jess anxiously waiting for lunch to come around, one of the few highlights of the day. But it seemed like today was going by especially slow, the teachers sluggishly going through their lectures, the minutes on the clock ticking by at a snail's pace, the whole first two hours sort of blurring together in one great big pile.

"Can this hour go any slower?" Jess commented during one of the teacher's speeches in second hour,

"Could be worse" James said.

"Yeah? How?"

"Dunno, just could".

By the time the bell rang at the end of his second hour, he was about spent, running his hands through his hair at the thought of five more hours of this. And even worse, gym was next, his most hated class.

"You okay there?" James asked at the sight of this.

"Just dreading next hour, that's all" he replied, "I'll live though".

"If ya want, we can jus' skip" he suggested.

"Nah, that's all right. I'll just see ya at lunch".

"Okay" he replied "see ya then".

Walking into the gym locker room, he deliberately took longer to change into his moldy gym clothes. By the time he was done, it was already ten minutes into class, everyone already broken up into different teams.

"Beers!" the gym coach yelled as he walked in "your late!"

"Sorry, lost track of time" he said.

"No excuse" he shot back "go and sit on the bleachers for the day".

He gave a shrug. Oh well, won't be much a difference without my absence.

Heading across the gym, he saw Macarthur and his gang cracking jokes as he made his way to the stands.

Ass bag Jess thought as he passed.

For the rest of the hour, he remained in the stands, foot tapping away as he tried to keep himself preoccupied. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell rang, Jess gratefully vaulting of the stands, anxious to get to the lunchroom.

Grabbing himself a random assortment of sandwich, apple, and milk, he made his way out of the back door of the cafeteria. Now that the weather had warmed up, the three of them were now able to go eat outside on the small hill near the school, Lois already sitting on one of the rocks at the top of the hill.

"Hey there" Lois said in a cheery voice as he took a seat on an empty rock.

"Hi Lois" he said, "How's yer day been going?"

She shrugged "all right, I suppose. I mean, no one likes goin' back to school after spring break but I can deal. How about you?"

"I dunno" he said, "I think I'm suffering from vacation depravation. I swear, today jus' keeps dragging on and on and on. I'm seriously thinking about skipping my next three hours".

"Oh don't do that," she said "yer jus' havin' an off day. Everyone suffers from that once and awhile".

"Whatever" he replied, taking a bit of his sandwich.

"mind tellin' me why you ran off on me yesterday?" she asked.

"ya, sorry about that" he said "my social worker was coming in and I had given myself a good half hour before he arrived".

"ah, okay" she said.

"so James has something to tell us" he said.

"he does?" she asked "what?"

"well I don't know Lois" he said "other wise I would have just come out with it. So you're just going to have to wait until he comes to find out".

"at least we won't have to wait long" she said as she saw James walking up towards them "hey there James".

"hey" he replied, sitting next to Jess.

"so how was yer break?" she asked "did you and yer aunt have fun up in…what was it called again? Mansfield or somethin?"

"that's right" she said "so, did you two have fun with the family?".

"Pretty much" he said "I'm not to big on the whole family gatherin's and all but it was okay".

"at least your family gatherings would be enjoyable" Jess said "now, if we were to have one, it just be a bloodbath".

Lois shook her head at this comment "so James" she said, "I hear that you got somethin' ta tell us?"

James looked over to Jess, who had an innocent expression on his face "don't look at me" he said "must have got it from someone else".

"Well yes, it is true" he said.

"So, what is it?" she asked, putting down her sketchpad, inching a bit closer on the rock.

"Yeah, you've kept us waiting long enough" Jess said.

"Okay, so here's the thing" he began "me and my aunt goin' to visit my folks, it was for more then just a simple get together".

"Yes, yes, go on" Lois said, eager to hear what he had to say.

"See, stayin' here in Shattuck" James said, "It was never goin' to be a permanent thing. Hell, I didn't even expect to make myself any friends till I met you two".

"Wait" Jess said, "Rewind a little. What do you mean not permanent?"

"When I came here," he continued "my aunt told me plain and simple that I shouldn't get to comfortable and that pretty soon, things would be changing' for the better".

Jess didn't like where this was going, the expression on Lois's face also reading the same.

"So, you mean…" he let the sentence hang, waiting for James to finish.

"My aunt got herself a job up in Mansfield," he said "and pretty soon, we're gonna be movin' there".

Jess mouth dropped while Lois exclaimed, "you mean yer leavin!" he nodded solemnly in response.

No one said anything for a moment, Lois looking as though she had been shell shocked, Jess playing with his fingers.

After awhile, Jess broke the silence "so when are ya going?"

"Bout a month or so" he replied.

"One month!" Lois exclaimed "one month!"

"I'm real sorry about this guys," he said "I jus'…I jus' never expected that it would really happen. A part of me wished that my aunt wouldn't go through with it but…"

"Unbelievable" she said.

"And you never once thought about telling us this fact a bit sooner?" Jess asked, a steely tone to his voice.

"I know I should have" he said "I jus' wasn't sure how to tell it to you".

"What is it about southerners and their inability to make decisions" Jess hissed.

"Jess, come on" Lois said.

"What, you think this is my fault?" James asked.

"Ya, I do" he shot back "if you knew that this was going to happen, why did you even bother getting to know us?"

"Things jus' happened" he said, "you know as well as I do. How was I suppose to know that stoppin' that ass whole from beatin' you up would make us friends?"

"Ain't like I asked for it" Jess said.

This got James angry "so maybe I should have jus' let those guys have their way with ya, is that what yer sayin?"

"Don't try and twist this on me".

The two of them were firing off at each other left and right, the simple conversation now escalated to a full blown shouting match. And if Jess was known for one thing, he never backed down from an argument.

"Stop, stop, stop!" yelled Lois, the two boys falling silent "I swear, you two are worse then children".

"He started it" Jess mumbled.

"It doesn't even matter" she said, "We shouldn't be fightin' with each other. No matter how loud we get, won't change a thing. What we should be doin' is making the most of this time we have left, not behavin' like some out of control kids".

Neither Jess nor James said anything, both still angry at each other and not feeling like saying anything else.

"Now apologize, both of you," she said.

"Sorry" Jess said, not really meaning it.

"Same" James replied, almost has half hearted as Jess did.

Lois rolled her eyes "come on you two, like you mean it".

He gave a sigh "all right" Jess said, "I'm sorry James".

"Yeah, me too" he replied, this time both of them actually meaning it.

"There, now was that so hard?" Lois said, "So I was thinkin' that this week we all go and do somethin".

"What? Like the drive in?" Jess asked.

"No" she said, "we've been there so much, that doesn't count as special anymore".

"So what were you thinking then?" Jess asked.

"Can't say," she said, "it's a surprise".

"Oh Lois, you know I hate surprises" said Jess.

"Don't be such a sourpuss" she replied, "You'll like it".

* * *

"Hey there Tammy" Bobby said to himself "been awhile since we last talk. So I know this might sound a bit weird and all but maybe if you were free this Saturday, we could…I dunno, catch a movie or somethin'. Or if yer not up ta it, we could just hang out somewhere…" oh that was just pathetic! He thought.

From across the hall she stood, just a few steps forward and he'd be right next to her. It wouldn't be that hard, it's just like talking to any other girl, all he had to do was ask.

"Okay" he said, giving himself a slight shake "you can do this Twist, you can do this, jus' go up, say hi, and jus' ask-"

"Wow, this is worse then I thought"

Bobby jumped at the sound of this new voice, turning around to see Jess leaning against the lockers.

"Jesus Christ Jess" Bobby said, "Ya scared me half ta death".

"Sorry" he replied "you just seemed so wrapped up in your little conversation, I didn't want to disturb".

"Well, thanks, I guess" he said.

"So, you were gonna do something?" he reminded him.

Turning back to Tammy, she was saying bye to her friends, now beginning to walk down the hall. Bobby felt his heart rate go up, palms starting to sweat, breathing getting heavier. As she got closer, he felt his anxiety begin to climb, all his worries and fears starting to boil over.

All right, you can do this. Just stop with the worrying and get it done with. He took a hesitant step towards her, hands nervously raking through his hair as he kept going forward.

You can do this; you can do this, he said to himself over and over again as he went forward. He was so close now, his heart going a hundred miles an hour, pulse going crazy as he neared her.

He stopped himself, mind now blank "I can't do this" he said, beginning to turn his feet back around.

"Oh no you don't" he heard Jess say. And before he could object, he felt himself get a push forward, almost knocking over Tammy as he went.

"Oh shit!" he said, quickly stopping him before the two collided "I-I'm sorry about that Tammy".

"It's okay Bobby," she said in a slightly fluttered voice, kneeling down to pick up her scattered books.

"I'm really sorry about that," he said, flashing Jess an angry glare as he walked past them; smug look on his face "you need help with that?"

"No, it's all right" she replied, picking up the last of her books "got'em all"

He gave a wheezy laugh "um…so, how was yer break?"

"Was all right" she said "nothin' really special, actually kinda borin' now that I think about it. How about you?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, bout the same" he said "helped on the ranch and stuff, did a bit of that paper we have to do in English, basically it".

"I hear that things are goin' well for yer dad's business," she said.

"Yeah!" Bobby said, a bit louder then need "couldn't be any better. We were able to get a few more ranches down in Texas to join up with us and Ennis is thinkin' about expandin' the ranch a bit more".

"That's nice. Glad that things are goin' well" she said.

Bobby nodded, both of them silent for a moment.

"So I guess…I'll see ya around," she said after a few minutes.

"Yeah, sure" Bobby said.

As she began to walk away, he decided to go for it "hey Tammy".

She turned back "yes?"

"I uh…" he rubbed the back of his head, slowly trying to form the words in his mind "I was jus' wonderin'…if ya weren't doin' anythin' over the weekend".

"Nothin' really" she said "why? Did you have somethin' in mind?"

"Uh…well, I'm not to sure myself. What would you be up for?"

She thought for a moment "tell ya what, why don' cha come over ta my house?"

Bobby felt his legs go weak "y-yer house?" he half stuttered.

"That's not a problem, right?"

"No!" he said quickly "no, its fine. I was jus'…concerned if yer parents would be all right with it".

"My parents are going ta be gone the whole week," she said, "so we won't have ta worry about them".

"Oh" he said, "oh, okay. Ya sure, I'm all right with that".

"Good" she said "maybe you can bring yer school supplies over and we can work on our stuff together".

"Sounds nice," he said, a smile slowly stretching onto his mouth.

"So, Saturday then?" she asked.

"Yeah, Saturday. Uh…you don't mind if I come over at like six or somethin?"

"Six would be fine," she said.

"Great" he said.

"Great".

Once again, silence between them "so I'll see ya on Saturday" Tammy said after a long pause.

Bobby nodded "yep, Saturday".

"Until then, I'll see ya around".

"Same here".

Giving him one last smile, she walked past him and headed for the front doors. It took a moment for the feeling to wash over him but when it did, Bobby never felt better.

"Now see" Jess's voice came cutting in "was that so hard to do?"

Bobby shook his head "no, it wasn't"

"I keep telling you Bobby, you have it in ya, shit yer like some modern day Casanova. All you needed was a little push". Bobby felt way to good to make a remark at this, so he just let that when slip past him.

"So now we both have plans for the weekend," Jess said as they started to walk again.

"Goin' to another movie?" he asked.

"No, Lois has some surprise for us" Jess replied "something special in honor of James's recent announcement".

"What announcement?"

"Seems his aunt got a job up near his grandparent's place" Jess said "their gonna be moving in about a month or so".

"Sorry about that" Bobby said.

Jess shrugged "that's life. Whaddya gonna do?"


	3. Chapter 3

It seemed like the whole week had gone by at a lethargic pace, as if Monday wasn't enough of a punishment. Jess would be there, sitting in his classes, eyes wandering around the room looking at nothing in particular, half listening to the lessons, drumming his fingers away anxiously for the bell to ring. But every time he looked over at the clock, it would always seem like it would never end and that he would be stuck in this classroom forever. Almost as though it were teasing him.

Things were still frosty between James and Jess, both of them barely talking to one another during lunch and pretty much ignoring each other during their classes together.

"Don't tell me you guys are still angry with one another," Lois asked him on Wednesday as they both headed for the art room after another awkward lunch.

"I'm not mad at him" Jess replied "I'm just…I'm just frustrated that he didn't mention it sooner".

"Oh my god, will you get off that" she said, "He made a mistake, that's all. You can't keep penalizin' him for that one thing!"

He sighed, "It still doesn't make sense".

"I swear, talkin' to you is like talkin' to a brick wall," she said.

"But I bet a brick wall didn't have such a great personality" he replied, causing Lois to push him playfully.

"Well don't you fret" she replied "cause come Saturday, I'm sure that both of ya will patch things up in a jiff".

"Yeah, mind letting me on that?" he asked.

"Like I said before" she said "secret".

"What are we, still in middle school?" he said sarcastically.

"Oh hush, you jus' have to be patient" she said.

"Another thing that is so middle school".

By the time Friday rolled around, Jess couldn't be more relieved, though the prospects of tomorrow didn't help much either. Lois had stuck to her word about keeping silent on what she had planned for the three of them. No matter how much badgering Jess did, no matter how hard he begged, she kept silent.

"So Lois still hasn't said anythin', huh?" Bobby asked as they drove out of the school.

"Nope. She's determined to keep this whole thing a surprise" Jess said "I swear, its like she's guarding the identity of Deep Throat its so important".

"Well then it must be go good," he said.

"But anyway" Jess said "enough about me, ya ready for yer little one on one with Ms. Thing tomorrow?"

"Who?" he said.

"Tammy" Jess replied flatly.

A nervous smile crossed his face "I'm excited…and nervous" he said "I mean, I ain't never been over ta a girls house, not alone anyway".

"Are you kidding?" Jess said, slouching over in his seat "I was alone at girls houses by the time I was eleven. I swear, you country boys and your manners".

"Well we all can't be like you city people" Bobby remarked.

"Ha ha" Jess said mockingly "anyway Bobby, its really easy. It's like I always say, it's just like doing any other ordinary event. All you have to do is keep your nerves under control and just have a simple conversation with her, like it was any other event".

"It's that simple?" he asked.

"Yes Bobby, it is" Jess said, "just be yourself, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less, just be yourself and you'll have the best night of your life. And hopefully next time, I won't have to push you into her again just to grab her interest".

One their way home, the two of them stopped off at the local post office. Jack had asked them to drop off a few things on their way home, as well as pick up any mail they may have. After just a few minutes inside, they walked back to the truck and pulled out into the street.

"Okay" Jess said, stack of letters in hand "lets see what the good old US postal service has provided us for today". Quickly rifling through the contents, muttering phrases like 'dreck' or 'bill' or 'chain mail', he pulled out a couple of letters addressed to him.

"Those from back home?" Bobby asked.

"Sure is" he replied. After catching up with all his friends back in New York, Jess made sure he wouldn't' make the same mistake before and not write to them, which he admits was a pretty dick move to do. But he was angry then, to pissed of to care, which really dosen't constitute much but hey, he was only human.

Looking at the letters, he saw one was from Marlene, a girl he used to work with at his old job Marty's and his old girlfriend Anna, who he had been friends with since grade school. She was almost like the original Lois, except with the whole relationship thing. He would wait till they got home to open them.

Pulling up to the house, Bobby immediately headed of for the ranch while Jess disappeared into the house and up into his room.

Nothing had really changed much inside the tiny bedroom. There was still the old wooden bed with the plain gray covering, the nightstand with nothing on it (or in it), and the hand me down dresser filled with his countless band t-shirts and jeans. But he didn't mind much (he thought it gave the room a nice quality to it).

For the first few minutes or so, he read and reread his letters, smiling slightly at each funny quip, mind flashing back to past memories of times in Central Park and Coney Island, events at his old high school, and moments he still couldn't believe actually happened.

After his little stroll down memory lane, he quickly zipped through his homework and spent the remainder of his time downstairs watching Three's Company before a few minutes to six, he got up and headed for the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Chopping up a couple of potatoes, he heard the door open behind him. Turning his head, he saw Bobby taking off his shoes.

"Hey" Jess said.

"Hey" Bobby replied "what we havin' tonight?"

"Pork chops" he replied "are about another twenty minutes before they're all done".

"Good, cause I'm starvin" he said, plopping down on the chair.

"Hard day?" he asked.

"Yeah" Bobby replied "I swear, I thought the whole reason for hirin' help was to make things easier".

"Expanding a business is tough work," Jess said simply, knowing full well the amount of work Jack and Ennis were going through (he didn't take those two years of business classes for nothing)

"I know but I jus' never imagined how tough" he said.

"Well don't worry to much Bobby" Jess said, throwing the last chapped potato into the bowl, picking up a large wooden spoon to mash them with "just think, tomorrow the only thing you'll be plowing through is Ms. Tammy Clark".

"Jess!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Oh relax will you" Jess said, "God, you southern people can be so conservative sometimes".

"Well that's not really somethin' you can say out loud" Bobby said "and anyway, yer one to talk. I mean you come from the south as well".

Jess stopped his process "uh, correction there" he said, turning towards Bobby "I may come from the south but everything I am comes from the N.Y. so take that".

"Yeah" Bobby said "and I have ta ask, how on earth did you break out of yer accent?"

Jess shrugged "dunno, just sorta happened. You know how like actors will sometimes put on a fake accent for a movie? That's sort of like with me, except I got really good at it and it just…stuck with me. If I really wanted to, I could easily slip back into how I used to talk before moving to New York".

"Really?" Bobby said.

"Really" Jess replied, picking up the spoon again and continuing on his work "now do me a favor and take those chops out of the oven before they burn".

* * *

Putting away the last of the equipment, Ennis bolted the shed door and headed back towards the house. Jack had already left a bit earlier to help Jess set up the table for dinner, while he decided to stay back and finish up the last of the days work. Hopefully things would get a lot easier once every last detail was taken care of.

Opening the front door, he already spotted the others just sitting down at the table.

"Ah, there you are Ennis" Jack said when he spotted him "for a second there, I thought you were gonna be workin' all through the night".

"Well ya don' hafta worry any more, I'm here" he replied, walking over to the dinner table and taking his usual spot.

For the first five minutes, things started off like any other normal dinner, loose talks about weekend plans, school, ranch stuff, all the things Ennis had grown accustomed to.

As Bobby and Jess began to talk about something, Ennis felt Jack's hand slip over his own, a gentle grip closing on him. He looked up over to him, Jack's eyes a concerned look, asking him 'are you sure about this'?

Ennis nodded in response, gripping his hand even tighter just to make sure he got the message. With this acknowledgement, Jack was ready.

"Hey guys" Jack said "if you two would listen for a minute, me and Ennis have something to say".

Both of them stop talking "what is it dad?" Bobby asked.

"And whatever it is, I didn't do it" Jess said quickly.

"Don' worry" Jack said playfully "none of you are in trouble".

"Oh" Jess said, "Well, that's a load off my chest".

"Don' mind him dad" Bobby said, "So go on".

"Ennis" Jack said, turning the spotlight on him.

He shifted slightly, always awkward when it came to stuff like this "well" he began, forming the words slowly in his mind "as both of ya know, things…have been going pretty well fer us lately. With the business getting' of to a, well, a pretty great start if I say so".

He paused, biting his lip slightly "and so, we think that, now's the best time to do a bit of changin' around here".

"What do you mean change?" Jess asked "as in like…more expansions? New house? Wait, are we moving?"

"No, no" Ennis said "nothin' like that". At this, Jess exhaled a sigh of relief.

"What we mean is" he continued "after livin' here for, I dunno, thirteen, fourteen years or so, we want to be able to live the life that we've been pretty much dreamin' about havin". He stopped, hand clutching Jack's for support, him returning the grip.

When he didn't speak for a moment, Jess leaned in slightly "meaning…what?"

Ennis gave a cough, signaling for Jack to jump in now "we've discussed it" he began "and we think that its about time people…knew about me and Ennis".

Silence descended over the table, Bobby's mouth dropping slightly, Jess's eyes blinking slightly, Ennis feeling has though the grip on his heart had just lessened. It was the longest stretch of time that no one said anything, so quite that you could hear a pin drop.

Finally, Jess broke the silence "shit" was all he said. And with it, it seemed though everyone else regained their ability to speak.

"I-I" Bobby tried "this…this is, wow, this is big dad".

"No kiddin" he replied "I swear, my heart has never pumped that hard before in my life".

"This is really great dad" Bobby said, "I mean, congratulations".

"I think congrats are a bit to early" Jess said "are you guys sure this is what you want? Ennis?"

Snapping out of his funk, he nodded "yeah" he replied, "we first brought the subject up awhile back, you would know Jess. But now, after givin' it some time and thinkin' it through, I say we have nothin' to fear".

"But we wanted ta talk ta you guys first" Jack said "we want to know if both of ya are okay with this".

"Dad, you know me" Bobby said "I've always been behind ya fer everythin' and I'm gonna stick with ya guys through this as well".

"Jess?" Jack asked.

"I really don't care" he replied "I mean, its not like it'll do anything to my social life. If you two want to do it, then do it. But only if you guys are sure" as he said this, he was staring directly at Ennis.

"So you two are okay with this then?" Jack said.

"Absolutely" Bobby replied.

Jess gave a casual shrug "what the fuck, this town needs some controversy anyway".

* * *

Ennis gave a ferocious kiss, practically devouring Jack's lips and tongue, he responding back wrapped his arms around his back, pulling even closer so their hot, sweaty bodies.

Feeling himself being pulled up, Ennis steadied himself on his one free hand, still ravenously eating away at Jack's mouth. Almost yanking himself free, he began to travel down Ennis's neck, tongue flicking in and out as he exploited his most sensitive spots, hands starting to work away at both men's raging hard dicks.

As he did so, he felt his mind begin to wander, eyes dazing off to some unknown place. Something had been bothering him for a while now, something that refused to go away, no matter how hard he kissed, no matter how hard he fucked, it was still there gnawing away at his heart.

Jack must have sensed this, cause after a few minutes of hardly any response out of him; he lifted his head up to face Ennis.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked in an out of breath voice, eyes a lit with worry.

"I'm jus'…not that into it tonight" he replied solemnly.

"What is it?" Jack asked, hand raising to gently cup his cheek "you know you can tell anythin".

"I was jus' thinkin" he began "about dinner and stuff".

This must have confirmed Jack's suspicions "Ennis" he said "we already went through this. If neither of us were ready, it wouldn't happen".

"I know that" he replied grumpily.

"Then what then?" he asked "I already told you, I wasn't goin' to force ya into this. I gave ya the time to think it over-"

"It's not like that Jack" Ennis said.

"Then why are you still afraid?" he asked.

He sighed, "I jus' don't want us to be makin' the biggest mistake of our lives".

Jack raised his other arm, wrapping them both around Ennis's neck "it won't be" and then he leaned in for one more kiss.

His fears quieted for a moment, Ennis savored the long moments, the feel of Jack's soft lips against his, warm, hard body pressed against his, letting the troubles of the world just slip past him.

Pulling away, he looked Ennis right in the eyes, hands cupped around his face "now I'm goin' ta ask ya again" he said "and I want ya to be sure about yer answer". Ennis nodded.

"Are you sure ya wanna do this?" Jack asked.

Ennis stared at him, stared into those puppy dog eyes he loved so much, into that perfect face of his, mind processing all the facts. He thought long and hard, all the while Jack never letting go of him, his eyes still locked onto him.

Finally, he let out a sigh "ya" he said "I want to".

"Your sure?" Jack asked.

Ennis leaned forward, gently kissing him "yes" he said softly.

With this, he kissed back, both of them embracing each other. He felt his hands travel down Jack's back, head dropping slightly so he could rest in the crook of his shoulder.

"I love ya Jack," he said.

"I love ya too Ennis".


	4. Chapter 4

Jess slowly cracked open his eyes, everything awash in bright morning sunlight, filling his room with a pleasantly warm glowJess slowly cracked open his eyes, everything awash in bright morning sunlight, filling his room with a pleasantly warm glow. Realizing today was the day, he shuffled out of bed, grabbing a pair of clothing and walked down the hall to the bathroom.

After a quick shower, he slipped on his jeans and shirt (The Ramones) and made his way downstairs to the kitchen, the other three men already seated.

"Morning everyone" he said.

"Mornin" they all replied.

Grabbing himself a coffee mug, he heard Ennis say "ya know when Lois is comin' ta get ya?"

"She said sometime around nine" Jess said, eyeing the clock in the kitchen "so it should be in a few minutes".

"Know when yer goin' to be back?" Jack asked.

"How the hell am I suppose to know?" Jess said, "Ain't like she was one to give out specific details".

"Then jus' be back before dark" he replied "and I mean before dark" he emphasized those last two words.

"Yes dad" Jess said sarcastically.

A car horn sounded from outside. Peering out through the window, he spotted the familiar green Vista Cruiser parked in the driveway, Lois seen getting out and waving for him.

"Wow, five minutes earlier then excpected" he commented "that's my cue to leave".

"All right" Jack said, "You three have fun".

"Will do" Jess replied, putting his cup in the sink.

"And remember, home before dark" Ennis said.

"Yes, yes" he said as he walked towards the door, making a quick stop by Bobby to whisper in his ear "good luck tonight. Don't blow it".

"Thanks" Bobby said in a not too serious voice.

And with a final pat on the back, he walked out the door. Quickly jotting down the steps, he saw Lois leaning in on the driver's door, James in the passengers seat.

"So now are you going to tell us what exactly is going on?" Jess asked.

"Hmm…no" she said, "Still have to wait a bit".

"For goodness sakes Lois" he said, hopping into the back "and you call me the stubborn one".

Giving him a smirk, she started up the car and pulled out back to the small dirt road.

"How long is this gonna take?" James asked.

"Should be about an hours drive" she replied.

"An hour?" Jess said, sticking his head through the small space between the front seats "why so long?"

"Oh its not that bad" she said "so both of ya jus' hush now" pulling out into the main road, she went south into the town's main district. There were a few people walking the streets but other then that, things were pretty quiet.

As they continued on through the town, they quickly droved pass the residential area and after a few more minutes of driving, the houses began to thin out more and more until there was nothing but wide plains in front of them.

Making himself comfortable in the back, Jess absently stared out the window, Lois chatting away about something as they drove.

Even after seven months, driving out into this barren wasteland gave Jess the creeps. The emptiness, the quiet, he felt like some sort of astronaut who was walking the face of the moon. Sometimes, he spotted a small house out in the distance, marveling at how someone could live out here.

He remembered Jack owning this one photo. It was tacked up in the bare cupboard in his room, along with the two jackets the men had worn that final day at Brokeback. It was when he was five, a young boy with that same bright smile, behind him a collection of worn down barns and an old two-story house. As he looked out into that house standing alone in the middle of the plain, he thought of that picture.

Jess knew a bit about Jack's childhood, not a whole lot, just enough information for him to get the basics. If he remembered, he grew up in some town called Lightning Flat, the son of a rancher, just like his dad. From what he was told, his father was…well, pretty much a dick. Always working the boy very hard, extremely strict, a real jackass by Jess's terms. As for his mom, she seemed to be a pretty okay woman, but then again how could she be to stay with a man like that?

After a bit of bribing on Bobby's part, he was able to find out that Jack hasn't talked to his parents in a long time. From last count it had been almost fourteen years since their last official talk and that had been over a phone call. Seemed like the idea of Mr. Twist's only son shacking up with another man didn't exactly sit well with him.

A bit more pushing and Jess got him to tell more. His exact words, from what Jack told him, was "yer no son of mine. And yer gonna rot in hell for the rest of yer internal life. As far as I'm concerned, you and me no longer exist". And then he hung up and for fourteen years, things have remained that way.

"Jess!"

Lois's voice woke him from his thoughts "what? Sorry Lois, I wasn't listening".

"Well snap out of it will ya" she said "we're gonna be there in about ten minutes or so".

"Really?" Jess asked. Had I been daydreaming that long? He thought.

Staring out the window, he noticed the landscape had undergone a drastic change. The flat plain lands had given way to rolling hills; their golden brown grass gently rippling through the spring air and numerous trees had begun to dot the region.

"So…now you do mind telling us where we're going?" he asked.

Lois sighed "for the millionth time, not till we get there".

"But we're close right? That should count for something" he remarked.

"Not even close" she said "and before we do go, I don't want any conflict between the two of ya".

"Not like we were going to start anything" Jess said "far as I'm aware of".

"There won't be" James said.

"Good" she said, taking a turn off the cement road and onto a small dirt path that snaked through the grassy plains.

Soon they entered into a wooded area of the plain, the road now covered in dead leaves and broken branches, sunlight streaming through the place, giving it an auburn glow. A final turn on the road and they came to a stop.

"All right" she said, "we're here".

Jess looked around "this is it? This is the big secret you were keeping?"

"Well, you have to see what's outside" she replied.

Unbuckling his seat belt, Jess climbed out of the back, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the sudden on slot of so much light. After a moment, he brought down his hand and got his first real glance at the place.

It was a medium sized clearing nestled in between a series of slopping hills and trees with a creek located right in the middle, its waters tinted topaz by the bright spring sun. Near the south end of the pond, a small peninsula jutted out into the waters, a single large tree located at the very end, small green leaves already beginning to sprout on its low hanging branches.

"Ain't it nice?" Lois said "my dad and I discovered it when I was five".

Even Jess had to say, it was not a half bad place "its cute" he said "bit of a letdown from all the hype but cute anyway".

"James?" she turned to him.

He shrugged "s'all right" he said "I mean, I like it, jus'…dunno, must have been suspectin' more".

"Well, at least the two of ya sorta like it" she said.

Jess shuffled his feet slightly "so, now what?"

"Well, ain't it obvious?" Lois said, "Who's up for a swim?"

"I didn't bring a bathing suit," Jess said.

"Yeah, I ain't much of a swimmer" James replied.

"Oh come on you two," she said, "live a little. Besides, go in yer underwear if ya have nothin' else. Or just stay up here all day, I don' give two shits".

With that, she began to walk towards the water, quickly stripping down to a simple white string bikini. Dipping her feet slightly in the water, she took a deep breath and dove in. a few moments later; she broke through the waters surface, hands whipping at her face.

"Well come on!" she yelled, "Water feels great!"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna have to pass on that offer" Jess replied.

"Fine, be that way!" she replied "James?"

"I don' swim!" he called.

"You two are unbelievable!" she yelled "whatever then, more water room for me" taking another breath, she dove back under.

After a brief moment, Jess gave a sigh "I guess I'll go hang by the tree then" he said, already starting to walk off. Taking a few steps, he looked back to see James starting to take off his shoes.

"What are ya doing?" he asked.

"What's it look like?" he replied, taking off his shirt to reveal his well muscled body "I'm goin' in".

"Thought you didn't swim?" Jess said flatly.

"I do, jus' don' do it so much," he said, unbuckling his pants "besides, we came out all this way, might as well".

Down to just his boxers, he turned to Jess "ya comin?"

"Thanks but no thanks" Jess replied.

James shrugged "suit yourself".

Turning to the water, he took of running and immediately dove in, leaving Jess alone on the shore.

Tapping his foot, he gave out a sigh "oh, what the fuck". A few moments later, he too had stripped down to his boxers and went off running to the water. Bracing himself, he dove in.

* * *

An hour later and the sun had now reached its peak. Jess was floating on his back in the creak, eyes staring up into the clear blue sky while Lois and James sat on the shore, large blanket spread out underneath them, he resting his head on his knees while she sketched idly on her pad.

"How long have you been coming here again Lois?" Jess asked idly.

"Since I was five" she replied.

"And how exactly did you find this place?" he asked.

"I already told ya, me and my daddy were jus' passin' by, decided ta check the place out" she said.

"So what, he just spontaneously decided to go off into the Oklahoma outback," he said.

"Pretty much" she replied. Jess let out a sigh, kicking his legs so he could propel himself more across the creek.

"Say, ain't Bobby suppose ta go over ta Tammy's house today?" she asked.

"That's the plan" he replied.

"Well I hope things go well" she said "god only knows that Tammy could do much better then that ass whole Macarthur".

"Any girl can do better then that ass hole" Jess corrected.

"I wonder what ever happened ta that guy," James said.

"What do ya mean?" Jess asked, lifting his head up slightly from the water.

"I mean, haven't heard from that guy ever since that scuffle back in December" he said.

"He was probably to afraid that you might kill him the next time he tried to do something to me" Jess said.

"I haven't heard from him either" Lois said "Jess, you have him in yer gym class, don't ya?"

"Don't remind me" Jess said "sure, he still tries to make my life hell in that class, you know, talk to his friends, throw a ball, just act like the axe wound he really is. But whatever, its manageable".

"Well that's good" she said "so James, you already packin'?"

"Yep" he replied "even though we have a month and she's treatin' it like we have till tomorrow to git all our shit together".

"Never can be too prepared" Jess remarked.

"She's probably jus' makin' sure that everythin' is settled before hand," Lois said.

James shrugged "I guess".

As Jess lightly floated by, his mind flashed back to yesterday night's dinner. He remembered talking about the whole subject before hand with Ennis and he expressed his concerns over the matter. He was all for but, he just wasn't sure if now was the right time. But then, who was he to judge? It was their decision after all. He just hoped that whatever that decision was, it was the right one.

Slipping back into now, he caught the end of Lois's sentence as she told James about an incident at the grocery store her dad owned, something about a toddler and a whole stack of peanut jars.

"And they crashed to the ground" she said "I swear, I have never seen so many nuts on the ground before".

"Wow, that's somethin" James said.

"So Jess," she said "how about you? Anything new you'd like ta tell us?"

"Actually yes" Jess said, "Ennis and Jack are planning on 'coming out' to the whole town".

"Really?!" Lois exclaimed.

"Really Lois" he replied.

"Oh wow, Jess, this is great!" she said.

"Well I wouldn't go that far" Jess said.

"Well I say that it is great" she said "I mean, havin' the courage to go through that, ain't easy. Shit, I don' know if I could do it myself".

"Yeah, its big all right" Jess said.

"Did they already talk ta you and Bobby about it?" James asked.

"At dinner last night" he replied "Bobby seemed all for it".

"And you?" he asked.

Jess bit his lip slightly "I mean, I don't mind. Its just…I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do".

"Oh no, here we go again" Lois said.

"No, its different" Jess said, flipping himself upright so he could get look Lois right in the face "back then, I was pissed at them. But now, not so much. I'm just saying that it's great in all. But we have to be honest here; society does not accept homosexuality as normal. And it probably won't be for a long time until it is".

"so yer point being?" Lois inquired.

"I'm just fearful of how the town reacts" he said "I won't care at all, considering my social status here is pretty much shot in the ground. But what about Bobby?"

"What about him?" she asked.

"Honestly, how would you react if you found out a kid at yer school had two dads?" he said simply.

"For me, I wouldn't care" she said.

"Of course not" Jess said "James, what about you?"

"Well" he said, put off by this sudden question "like Lois said, I wouldn't care much either. But if I were like the others…hate to say but, I wouldn't like it so much".

"Exactly" Jess said "and what about the business? Once word goes around to those other ranchers we have deals with, how many do you think will stick around?"

James didn't say anything for a moment "not a whole lot".

"oh now you two stop" Lois said "quite lookin' at the negative and look at the positive of the whole thing!"

"and what exactly are the positives?" Jess asked.

"well for one thing" she began "the two of them can finally stop with all the sneakin' around, plus it shows how much Ennis has changed. If you would have asked me two months ago about the possibilities of that happenin', well I-"

and she was off. Realizing that no amount of talk would dampen Lois's enthusiasm on the news, Jess gave a sigh and dove back under the water. Opening his eyes, he watched as the sunlight sparkled off the surface, the world above him gently waving from the waters ripples.

It still couldn't quite the thoughts in his head but at least now things didn't seem too grim.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was now beginning to set. Deep shades of orange and red filled the quite clearing, long shadows cast by the trees stretching across the land like long fingers, the water's surface rippling slightly as wind gently blew past.

Wrapped in a blanket, Jess walked over to the tree where he had hung his boxers up to dry. They were still a bit damp but it wasn't so wet that they were uncomfortable to wear. Slipping them on, he pulled the blanket closer to him and walked back to the others.

Lois was now fully dressed, resting casually on her elbows while James laid stretched out next to her, his pants back on but still shirtless.

"Aren't you cold?" Jess asked as he took a spot next to him.

"Not really" he replied.

"You're a maniac" Jess replied.

"That or he jus' wants to show of his amazin' bod" Lois teased, James turning red at this comment.

"So did you guys enjoy yourselves?" she asked.

Jess shrugged "again, not what I expected. But it was a really nice day".

"Same here" James replied.

"Told ya you two would like it" she said.

"Shouldn't we be heading back soon?" Jess asked "its getting kinda late out".

"What's with the rush?" she asked.

"I have to be home before nine" Jess said "and as you know, I'm not exactly the one who is on time for curfew. Wait, was I suppose to be home by nine? Or was it before dark? Shit, I don't even know when I'm suppose to be home. Fuck".

"You want us to leave now?" Lois asked.

"If you two don't mind…"

"Not at all" Lois said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want ya gettin' in trouble over us" James replied.

"Then its settled" Lois finished, getting up from her position "we best be headin' out. Here Jess, you can start the car up while James and I gather up all this".

After a few minutes of packing, they three of them were all ready. Doing a small twist, they drove down the small dirt trail, which oddly enough looked very different in the evening glow then in the morning. Soon the trees began to fan out and the hills began to recede back until they were back on solid asphalt.

"So Jess, ya never told us when Ennis and Jack are goin' come out" Lois said after that got on the road.

"You make it sound like it's some sort of event" he commented.

"Cause it is a big event, doin' somethin' like this" she said.

Jess sighed, "they didn't say exactly. But judging by what they did say, it would probably be soon".

"Well you can tell'em that me and James are totally for it. Right James?"

"Yeah, of course" he replied.

"I'll be sure to tell them" Jess said flatly.

"Now James, has yer aunt shown you where ya'll be livin? Or is-" Detaching himself from the conversation, he laid his head against the backseat, letting his mind wander again. As he did, Bobby crossed his mind, causing him to smile.

Wonder what lover boy is doing at this very moment? He thought.

* * *

Bobby was practically gnawing off his hand as he pulled up into Tammy's driveway. He already could feel the accelerated heart beat, the short breathing, the sweaty palms, every sort of tell tall sign that showed just how nervous he was.

All right Bobby, not tonight, he thought to himself. For one night, you are not going to act like some lovesick ball of nerves. You're going to be cool, calm, and collected, cool, cool, cool…

It wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried, the nerves wouldn't die down. More like, every time he tried to act cool, he'd become even more nervous.

Okay, come one, come Bobby thought, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. You can do this; you can do this. You. Can. Do. This.

Freeing his mind of all his thoughts, he opened the door and took the dive before anything could change his mind.

Knocking on the door, he could make out the muffled sound of shuffling feet coming to the door, and almost instantly he felt the nerves jump back in, arm squeezing on his schoolbooks to try to quell his heart rate.

Tammy opened the door, a smile already on her face "hey Bobby" she said in a sweet voice.

"H-hey" he replied, immediately biting his tongue once he realized he had stuttered.

"Come on in" she said, opening the door wider "jus' kick yer shoes off and make yourself at home".

Nodding, he hesitantly walked into the open hallway, living room and kitchen in full sight and stairs off to the side of the house.

"So, do you want anything?" she asked "I got some Coke in the fridge if you want some and if you want something to eat, I can bring out some chips if ya want".

"Uh…" come on Bobby, speak! Don't look like some ass! "Uh, yeah, that would sound nice. Thanks".

Smiling, she headed toward the kitchen. Taking off his shoes he walked over into the living room, plopping down on the pale blue couch and setting his books on the glass table. He took a deep breath, kneading his fingers together into a convoluted knot, trying to calm his jumping nerves that seemed to refuse to die.

"Here you go" came Tammy's voice, taking a seat on the couch, handing him the coke.

"Thanks" he said, taking the bottle from her hand, taking a large swig that caused his throat to burn.

"So, we better get started" she said.

"Oh, yeah, right" he said, setting his bottle down on the table.

"Oh, you brought your geometry book?" she said.

"Yeah, we have this packet due on Monday" he said, pulling out the wad of paper from his within his book's binding "Jess was able to help me with the first few but…"

"Can I see?" she asked.

"Uh, sure".

She reached over, hand gently brushing his as she took it from him, Bobby feeling his heart race. She looked at it for a few minutes, flipping the page over a couple of times before nodding.

"Ah yeah, this stuff is pretty easy once you understand the concept" she said.

"Hope so" he said "if I don' get this stuff soon, I'll fail the quiz my teacher has for us next week".

"Well, I'll make sure that won't happen" Tammy said, flashing him one of her smiles.

For the next thirty or so minutes, Tammy alternated from helping Bobby out with his math problems to finishing up an English paper she had to finish.

"Is this right?" he pointed to the recently completed math problem.

Tammy leaned over "almost. Here" she took the pencil from his hand "you have to switch these two equations. Remember, your trying to find the angle measure, not the side length".

"Oh all right" he said, taking back his pencil and erasing the answer he just put.

"So how are things?" Tammy asked.

"Uh…all right, I guess," he replied "the ranch is doin' real nice and all".

"You goin' out for the baseball team again?" she asked.

"Yep".

"When are tryouts?"

"Next week" he said.

"Hope you do well" she said.

"Thanks" he replied, a smile creeping on his face.

She sighed, "To think, in jus' a few months this is all goin' ta end".

"I know" Bobby said "scary huh?"

"Very" she said "jus' the whole thing about movin' out, goin' ta college, jus' basically becoming an adult".

"Yeah" he said.

She casually put her paper down "have you thought about which college you might go to?"

He shrugged "I'm not so sure".

"Have ya applied ta any?" she asked.

"A few" he said "though with my grades, options were pretty slim ta begin with".

"Oh don't say that," she said "hell, I would say you've gotten better over the year. Ya raise your hand more often in class".

"That's mostly because of Jess's help" he said, "dunno what I'd do without him".

"He a nice guy?" she asked.

"When he wants ta be" he replied, "sometimes he can be a real ass but he's a real nice guy. Why do ya ask?"

Tammy shrugged "jus' curious, that's all".

Silence descended on the room, Bobby feeling his anxiety spiking again. Should I say something? He thought, now starting to feel as though he had said something wrong.

"Bobby" said Tammy.

"Yeah?" he asked.

She got off the couch and took a spot next to him "can I ask you somethin?"

"Uh…" he was a bit lost for words, part of which was contributed to how close she was "yeah, sure".

"Do you like me?" she asked.

Bobby felt his heart stop "o-of course I like you".

She laughed, "That's not what I meant" she said "I mean, do you like me?"

As if he couldn't get any worse, Bobby's whole seemed to seize up and his palms started to sweat. He tried to form the words, tried to make the signals in his brain click, but his mind seemed to have come at a stop and nothing was coming.

But before he could say anything, she leaned in and gently kissed him.

Now his mind, which seemed to have come to a glaring halt, went off at a rockets pace. So many thoughts and emotions flooded through him. All through out he kept thinking one thing, what do I do? What do I do? Instincts kicking in, he returned the kiss, hand slowly rising to rest behind her head, pulling her in closer to him, her arms wrapping around Bobby.

And for once, all of his worries, anxiety, self-doubt, nerves, thoughts, all of it just vanished in that one instant. It was just him and her, for Bobby, it was a dream come true.

* * *

Turning the shower nozzle off, Jack stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel from the hanger. Rubbing it across his wet body, he walked over to the kitchen sink, grabbing his toothbrush from within the medicine cabinet.

A quick minute of brushing, he spat the glob of spit and paste into the sink. Raising his head up, he caught his reflection in the mirror.

Looking at himself, a thought crossed his mind. Thirty-nine. In a few months, he'd be turning thirty-nine years old. And next year, he'd be forty. He knew that it was very stupid to think about, how old he was but as his looked at his reflection, he couldn't help but wonder where the years went.

He still looked as good as ever, face still handsome and body as hard and muscled as if he were twenty. A closer look however and he could already see the effects of age starting to set in. hair starting to dull in color, not as rich and dark as it used to be, a few lines starting to etch themselves across his face, his skin starting to loosen up. Feeling his chest, it was still as hard as ever, abs in great shape, though he could swear he was starting to gain a few pounds around his waist. Then he moved to his ass, cupping it lightly and he swore that he could already feel it starting to sag a bit.

But then again, maybe he was making a big deal out of nothing; exaggerating things out of proportion, his own mind playing tricks on him. Oh no, he thought, don't tell me I'm already starting my mid life crises.

"Jack". Ennis's voice startled him, making him jump slightly, face reddening as though he'd been caught jacking off.

"Jesus Ennis" he said, "you gave me a scare there".

"Jack, what are you doin?" he asked.

"Nothin" he replied "jus' finishin' up in the shower".

"Didn' look like nothin' ta me" he said, smile crossing his face "seemed like you was admirin' yerself".

"Well, it wasn't that" he said.

"Then what?" he asked, stopping at the door "come on, you can tell me".

Jack felt so uncomfortable about this, which was odd for him cause he hardly ever felt awkward about any situation but somehow, this whole thing really got to him. thinking there was no other way to say, he just said it as bluntly as possible.

"Ennis" he said "do you think I'm getting' old?"

"old?" he mimicked "um, how do you mean by old?"

"its jus' that" Jack began, stopping himself to get the words right "well, my birthday is comin' up soon and, you know, once that happens, only one more year until I hit forty".

It dawned on him "oh no, Jack, are you kiddin' me?" he said.

"no, I'm not Ennis" he replied "you know, we ain't gonna stay young forever".

"but don't ya think it's a bit…soon, to be callin' yerself old?" he asked.

"not really" said Jack "its what I've heard all my life. Once you hit forty, that's it, things are going to start to decline and we'll basically start to-"

"Jack, jus' stop" said Ennis "I think yer makin' a big deal out of nothin'. So what if ya turn forty? Or me for that matter?"

"I know I shouldn't make such a big fuss about" he said, turning back to the mirror "but I swear, I think I'm starting to gain weight".

"you're not gainin' any weight" said Ennis, walking over to him, wrapping his arms around Jack's stomach "and ya ain't getting' old neither. I think ya look as good as ever".

"ya mean it?" Jack asked.

"of course I do" he replied "and I'll still think that, even when yer gray and wrinkly".

Jack gently elbowed him "stop" he said, turning around to face him, giving him a gentle kiss which Ennis returned.

"meet ya downstairs" he said.

"why?" asked Ennis, hand going down to the towel "when the bed is so much closer? And I already have ya in my arms" and he kissed him again, Jack feeling the towel's grip loosen.

Jack was so tempted to let him do it, already feeling himself getting riled up, wanting Ennis to fuck him into oblivion. But despite all his wishes, the thought of the boys still popped into his head.

"we can't" he said, removing his lips from Ennis, something that required a great amount of strength to do "we still hafta wait until the boy's get home".

With this realization, Ennis stopped "oh yeah" he said, pulling himself away, the two of them walking back into the bedroom "ya know, Jess still ain't back yet and its been over an hour since dark".

"but really, is it that big of a shock?" asked Jack, as he slipped on some boxers and pants "ain't like he's been on time before".

"You'd think he learn by now" said Ennis, waiting for Jack to finish dressing "swear, I don't think groundin' him is gonna work anymore".

"What do you suggest then? We beat the kid or somethin?" said Jack in a joking manner, finishing buttoning his shirt up, following Ennis as he began to open the door.

"at this point, seems like the only way" said Ennis.

"Least it ain't bad like before" said Jack "now we don't have to deal with any back talk or barbed comments".

Reaching the bottom of the steps, they saw the front door opened and Jess walked in.

* * *

"I'll talk to you guys Monday!" he said, Lois waving bye as she pulled out of the driveway. Closing the door, he turned around and immediately his high spirits sank when he saw Jack and Ennis standing there at the bottom of the steps.

Shit, he thought, I was hoping to deal with this a bit later. Oh well, might as well start groveling.

"Okay look" he began "before you say anything, let me explain".

"Oh, this oughta be good," remarked Jack.

Damn, its not going to work. He gave a sigh. Well I better stop while I'm ahead and prepare for the worst.

"fine, you got me" he said "a week grounded and extra work on the ranch".

"make it two weeks" said Ennis.

Jess gave a huff "I guess I deserved that" he said.

As the two of them headed into the living room, Jess went straight for the fridge "didja guys already eat?" he asked.

"yeah" came Jack's reply "we decided to prepare ahead. There are some leftovers if ya want any".

Jess gave a laugh. Even though things were cool between him and Jack now, that still didn't change the fact about his god awful cooking. Picking through the fridge, he settled on just an average sandwich, which was looking like a delicacy at this point, considering he hadn't eaten properly since morning.

Putting on the finishing topping, he grabbed a bottle of Dr. Pepper and headed into the living room, Jack and Ennis on the couch watching TV.

"So how was yer day?" Ennis asked as he sat down on the armchair.

"Was nice" he replied, taking a big bite of his sandwich.

"Where did ya'll go?" he asked.

Swigging down some of his drink, he replied "Lois took us to this creek out in the country, apparently she and her dad have been going there for a long time, decided to bring us as well".

"That sounds nice" said Jack "so what, you guys swim all day?"

"Yes" he replied "that and just lay on the shore and talk. Was pretty nice. And it should have been considering I got grounded for it".

"We gave you a clear warning," Ennis said.

"I'm only human," said Jess.

"Even so, by the hundredth time, you ought to learn yer lesson".

"I guess that is true" he said, taking another big bite of his sandwich "Bobby still out?"

"Yep, should be comin' back soon" said Jack. Jess nodded, from then on keeping silent, wanting nothing more but to eat.

After thirty minutes of watching television, Jess heard the sound of a car pulling up. Guess Casanova is back from his 'study hour'.

Soon Bobby came through the door "hey sport" said Jack "how did the studyin' go?"

It took Bobby a moment to respond, "Was nice" he replied, large goofy grin crossing his face, this telling Jess that something was up.

Immediately getting up from his seat, he hurried into the kitchen, dumped his plate into the sink and rushed back just as Jack was readying for another question.

"hey Bobby, could ya come upstairs and help me out with something?" he asked.

"sure" he replied.

"great" said Jess, practically half dragging him up the stairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him once they entered.

"okay, spill" said Jess.

"what?" asked Bobby.

"don't play dumb with" he said "I know something happened, so start talking".

Bobby bit his lower lip, a grin crossing his face "well…"

"yes?" Jess, taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"I know she likes me" he said sheepishly.

"well, duh" said Jess "any idiot could tell that. Now come on, what really happened?"

"Nothin" he said "we jus' talked, that's all. She said she liked me and I told her I felt the same way".

Jess knew how bad a liar Bobby was and he knew right away he wasn't telling the whole truth. A quick look at his face, with his bright eyes and awkward manner, it all dawned on him.

"Oh my god" he said.

"What?" he asked.

"You guys totally macked out!" he exclaimed.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I can't believe it" Jess said, "Our little Bobby is growing up. So, tell me, how was it? Worth the wait, I hope".

He sighed "totally".


	6. Chapter 6

"Couldn't have happened ta a better man," said Lois for about the hundredth time on Monday "Tammy and Bobby couldn't be even more cuter together". Even if it had only been two weeks, if Jess had to hear one more talk about Bobby and Lois, he'd slice his ear off like Van Gogh.

"I wouldn't go that far," replied Jess "but it's a definite upgrade from that assbag Macarthur. Dammit, I screwed up my circle again".

"Yer not usin' yer wrist" she said, taking his hand and guiding him through the motion "its all in the wrist, what I keep preachin' ta ya everyday".

"Easy for you to say" said Jess, "unlike you I don't spend my days doodling in some sketchbook".

"You say that now but one day, my work could be in the Smithsonian" said Lois "there, now yer circle is complete. Now are you good for the shadin' part? Or should I do that myself?"

"Oh shut up" said Jess, who by the end of class made sure to do a damn good job of shading his circle.

"So are ya still on lockdown for the week?" asked Lois as they walked down the hall.

"Yep" he replied "part of my two term sentence and this week, I'm pretty sure Jack and Ennis are trying to get it through my head to be on time for my curfew. Yesterday they had me working silly! So much so, I would almost consider it child abuse. Wonder if I can file a complaint?"

"Quit being so dramatic" said Lois "their only doing it cause they care about you. And you know, if I was yer parent, I'd try to slap some sense in ta ya fer comin' home late all those times".

"Your partially to blame for it" said Jess "all the times I've been late, it's mostly been because of you. Maybe they should focus more on you then me".

"Right" she said, rolling her eyes "well with you out of it again for the week, I guess we're goin' ta have to shift our plans ta the following week, so make sure ya don't get grounded again. I swear, feels like we're on such a time crunch with James leavin' soon".

"Ain't that a tragedy" came a sneering voice from behind them.

"Macarthur" said Jess in a drawling voice, turning around to face him and his usual gang of boys as they approached them "what happened? Did Nazi class get out early today?"

"You talk tough now" he replied "what with yer little bodyguard still around, but I bet once he's gone, yer gonna be runnin' with yer tail between yer legs".

"Hasen't stopped me before" said Jess "and I don't need James to deal with some moronic redneck like you".

"Better watch it freak" he said, stepping towards him "I ain't afraid of yer W-T friend. And he ain't gonna stop me from knockin' the shit outta ya".

"Sure ya still have the balls ta say that to our W-T friend?" said Lois "or yeah to afraid he'd clock ya again?"

"Shut the fuck up, you little cunt" he said, his whole crew snickering at this, Lois nearly lunging at him before Jess grabbed her.

"Easy, easy Lois!" said Jess, trying his best to hold on to her "he's not worth it. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

He shrugged "guess not. What? You gonna do somethin' about it?" Jess pushed Lois behind him, still keeping a firm grip on her in case she tried to jump Macarthur again.

"Trust me Macarthur, I'm the last person you wanna mess with," he said.

"Oh, I'm so scared" he said, holding up his hands defensively "what can some little fag lick like you do ta me?".

"Plenty" Jess said, never once backing down.

"Hey there guys" said James, walking up from behind them, instantly Macarthur going white.

"Is there some sort of problem?" he continued, eyeing Macarthur and his gang suspiciously.

"No trouble" replied Jess "we were just talking, weren't we Doug?"

Macarthur seemed to struggle for words, before giving up and turning around in the opposite direction, the others following suit.

"What a pussy" said James as he watched them round the corner "you two alright?"

"Yeah" said Jess "though I don't know about her".

"I'm better now" she said crossly "but I still wanna throttle that bastard. Where does he come off like that?"

"He's an asshole, that's all," said Jess, the bell ringing as soon as he finished "great, now we're late because of that asshole".

"Come on, we better get to ta class" said James.

The two of them said goodbye to Lois and quickly headed to their class, the teacher snapping at them as they walked in on the middle of his lecture.

"So I was thinking" Jess whispered as they sat in their seat "since there's no way of me getting out of the house, why not you and Lois come on over?"

"You sure Jack and Ennis would mind that?" he asked.

"Hey, they never said anything about inviting people over" Jess said "besides you've never even been to my place before, hell, most of our free time has either been spent at the drive in or your filthy garage".

"Don't mock the garage" he replied.

"Whatever, its still a pretty dirty place".

"Is there something you two would like to share with the class?" the teacher asked from the front of the room.

"No sir" Jess replied. He waited a few moments before the teacher started to talk again before he leaned in to James.

"I'll try and clear it up with the guys," he said "give us a chance to catch up on some schoolwork, watch some TV, talk, you know, normal stuff. And, I might even cook for the evening".

"Sounds alright" said James "thinkin' maybe this Friday or somethin?"

"Looks like the best time-"

"Not only were the both of ya late but now that's twice you've interrupted me" came the teacher, only this time he was standing right near Jess and James "detention, after school, my class" finished, he stalked off and continued on where he left off.

"Well that's the cherry on a fantastic day" Jess said sarcastically.

* * *

Ennis was just finishing up some last bit of paperwork, a sign of another deal they had made, filing it away in storage when the door opened and Jack walked in.

"Hey" he said.

"Hey" he replied, kissing him on the cheek "that from the Garder deal?"

"Yep, was jus' puttin' it away" said Ennis, closing the cabinet.

"Bobby wanted me ta tell ya that Jess got a detention" Jack said "won't be another hour till he gets back".

"Goddamn it," said Ennis "can't that kid stay outta trouble fer two minutes?"

"Hey its only his first detention" said Jack "don't need ta get all riled up".

"I guess" he replied.

"You comin' back out soon?" he asked.

"In a minute" Ennis replied "but before we do, Jack, think there's somethin' we oughta discuss".

"What?" asked Jack, suspicion in his voice.

"Don't worry, it ain't serious," he said "its about yer birthday".

Jack's face sagged a bit "oh".

"Now come on, don't make it sound worse then it already is".

"Well it ain't like no one looks forward ta getting' older" he grumbled.

"Will ya get off the whole age thing?" said Ennis "I've said it a thousand times Jack, ya look as good as ever".

Jack shrugged "do we have to discuss this now? I mean, ain't till another two months"

"No, but I jus' wanted ta get an idea on what ya want" he said.

"I don't really want much" he said "maybe some new pants but nothin' to fancy".

"You say that now but jus' wait, soon ye'll be askin' fer all kinds of thing" said Ennis.

"Oh shut up" said Jack, playfully pushing "no, this year I'm jus' gonna keep it simple. After all, we'll need all the money we got if we're gonna send Bobby of ta college".

"Man, college" said Ennis "can't believe that's finally arrived".

"I know," replied Jack "seems like only yesterday he was still in diapers. And then by next year, Jess will be followin' suite. We'll be lucky ta still have the house by then".

"We're more then covered now," Ennis reminded him, remembering the whole birthday chat "so birthday, ya want nothin' special?"

"Nope, not really" said Jack, lips puckering slightly "but…"

"But what?" asked Ennis, preparing for the worst.

Jack was silent for a moment "nah, forget it, it ain't to important"

"what Jack?"

"its nothin' Ennis" he said hastily, getting a bit jumpy.

"it's alright Jack, I don't mind" he said.

"it was stupid anyway" Jack said.

Now Ennis was defiantly concerned. Jack was now starting to act…well, like him under pressure, fidgeting, beginning to mumble, getting defensive.

"come on Jack, what is it?" he asked.

Jack took a deep breath "well…I mean, it's not like somethin'…you know, money wise".

"what is it then?" Ennis said, "Is it the marriage thing?" Jack had been bugging him for so long to make it official, ever since they first moved in, but he had always shot down the idea. But now with things changing, he wouldn't mind objecting to the idea now.

"no its not the marriage thing" said Jack.

"Then what then?" asked Ennis "yer actin' like ya want me ta kill someone. Just come out with it" it was kind of weird, being the persuasive one and not the defensive one. Ennis kinda liked it.

Jack took another large breath "alright. But promise me yer not going ta go over the deep end, alright?"

"Jeez Jack, what on earth do ya want?" said Ennis.

"Promise?" he said.

"Yes, yes, I promise," said Ennis "now what is it?"

He was silent for a moment "you sure?"

"For fuck's sake Jack, jus' say it" said Ennis, starting to get a bit annoyed.

Jack was quite, crossing his arms across his chest and hanging his head slightly "well…I have…actually, I really can't think of a way ta say it" he laughed slightly.

"So say it already," Ennis said.

Jack looked him straight in the eye, taking on more deep breath "alright" he finally said, "I'll jus' say it as bluntly as I can. I was going to ask…for a threesome".

He felt his heart stop for a moment, the blood from Ennis face seemingly flooding out of his face, arms falling limply to the side. For what seemed to be the longest time, his mind had gone blank, only after his initial shock did the gears in his head began to turn again and actual thoughts started up again.

"Oh".

* * *

By the time dinner had rolled around, Jess was just not up to making anything. After an hour of banging eraser heads and another three of backbreaking work on the ranch, the last thing he needed was to be in front of a stove. Usually in times like these, he would have gone out to get carry out but where on earth was he going to find a restaurant in this po-dunk town? So he just settled on a quick fix dinner using the revolution that was the microwave.

At the dinner table, the emotions were running high, evenly split between three different sides. There was Jess, who after just two days of work and the day he had, was feeling bitter and angry, keeping mostly to himself and eating his food. Then there were Jack and Ennis, both looking extremely uncomfortable and awkward, they too keeping to themselves. And then there was Bobby, who looked as though he was on Cloud 9, spirits up, feeling like he was on top of the world, a huge upswing from the other two moody presences.

Finally, Jack decided to break the silence "so, Jess, how was yer day?"

Jess stared up from his food "what do you think?" he said bluntly.

"You brought this on yerself" he replied "maybe if ya stopped breakin' curfew all the time, we wouldn't hafta keep punishin' ya".

"I'll put on top of my list," said Jess.

"What about you Bobby?" Jack said.

"Was pretty good" he replied "me and Tammy have made plans fer this weekend".

"Well look at that, our Bobby is becoming quite the ladies man" said Jack, Bobby reddening slightly, though still not dropping the grin he had on his face.

"Speaking of plans" said Jess "I was wondering if maybe Lois and James could come over Friday night".

Jack mulled it over for a moment "I guess we can do that, considerin' how hard you've been workin'. Ennis you don't mind?"

"Wha?" said Ennis "uh, no, not at all".

Jess wrinkled his forehead, a bit concerned over this small instance, but after a bit letting it drop "cool".

* * *

Ennis laid his head against the bed frame, the sound of the shower a low drum in the background. He hadn't spoken to Jack, not since back in the office when he first said it. It wasn't like he was mad or anything, he just had no idea how to react to it. He knew he should say something but even as Jack slipped in the covers next to him, the words could not come out of his mouth.

"Ennis" said Jack, breaking the silence "can we talk about this?"

"What's there ta talk about" replied Ennis.

"If yer angry, I'm sorry" said Jack "it was jus' an idea-".

"I'm not angry Jack" he said "I'm jus'…well, shocked, that's all. I mean, out of all the things you could have wanted, why that?"

Jack shrugged "I dunno. Its jus' this thing that I've always wanted ta do, that's all".

"Then why not say it earlier?" he asked.

"Cause I knew how you would react" said Jack "you can barely stand ta have a guy look at me without wantin' ta pummel him".

"Now that ain't true" he replied "besides, ain't like no guy has tried ta check ya out here in Shattuck".

"Cause everyone is already taken" Jack said, "Look, it was jus' some stupid idea, a pretty selfish one if ya think about it. I can jus' try for somethin' else".

"Jack" said Ennis "if it means…if ya want it so bad…"

"Yer only sayin' that" said Jack.

"No, I ain't" he replied, looking Jack in the eyes "if it really is what ya want, I wouldn't object".

Jack hesitated for a moment "yer sure?" he asked in a cautious tone.

"Yes Jack, I'm sure," said Ennis.

"Yer not jus' sayin' that, right?" he asked.

"For the last time Jack, I don't care" he said.

Both were silent, Jack looking very closely at Ennis's face, trying to find any sort of sign that would give away his façade, an eye twitch, tight lips, but none of that happened.

"yer really sincere" said Jack.

"sure am" replied Ennis.

Jack sighed "thank god. Fer a while now, I though ya might have gone off on me".

"people change" said Ennis "like ya always said".

He nodded "well thanks, I appreciate it" he leaned forward and gently kissed Ennis on the lips.

"Besides, I ain't keepin' my hopes up" he said "after all, what are the odds of findin' someone here in Shattuck? Just some dumb fantasy" he turned to the table and flipped the light off, Jack getting himself comfortable.

"And jus' ta let ya know, I want a new pair of boots and a VHS player".

"VHS player?" asked Ennis.

"So I can watch all my westerns," he replied.

Ennis rolled his eyes, chuckling silently. Making himself comfortable, he closed his eyes to get them sleep, though his mind seemed far from wanting to.

Even though he told Jack he was fine with the threesome idea, a part of him still retained that jealously, and the thought of Jack being with another man made his blood begin to boil. And maybe it was a bit hypocritical, considering how long Lureen was with Jack and he with Alma, but the idea of there being someone else, kissing him, fucking him, didn't set right with him.

Jack said it was only a stupid wish, but Ennis wasn't prepared to go the extra mile to see it through. In two weeks, both of them would have probably forgotten about it and moved on. At least, he hoped

* * *

**Authors Note: hey everyone, sorry for the long wait. I have just been so busy. So if I don't update soon, I apologize in advance. Hopefully I'll churn out the next chapter really soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

Friday arrived in a flash, Jess pleasantly surprised at how quick the school week had gone. Since Lois was staying after school to work on some 'top secret' project and James had to finish packing all his things, Jess decided to just walk home, figuring he could use the exorcise. Walking down the small town street, he couldn't help but get that sinking feeling that he was slowly starting to actually like the little hick town.

God, he realized, I need to get myself to a city before I begin to grow a fondness for cowboy boots.

Heading up the porch steps and into the house, he found Jack already at the table.

"Hey" he said as Jess walked through the door.

"Hey" he replied, walking over to the fridge.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Alright" said Jess, popping the cap of the Dr. Pepper bottle.

"Are Lois and James still coming over?" said Jack.

"As far as I'm aware of" said Jess.

"Now I already told you and Bobby that Ennis and I would be gone for the whole weekend," said Jack.

"Yes, yes, for the hundredth time, I know" said Jess "and like before, I know the rules, no beer, no joyriding, and no simulated sex".

"What?" said Jack in a surprised voice at the sound of the S word.

"Kidding" said Jess "you think you be used to that word by now".

"Well it ain't often I hear the word coming out of some sixteen year old" he replied.

"I swear Jack, sometimes you and Ennis act like its still 1957" said Jess.

After an hour, Jack and Ennis began to pack up there things into the pickup, Jess out front waving them off as they left, but not before Ennis could sneak in another talk about what he was forbidden to do while at the house. Since Bobby was going out on another date with Tammy tonight, Jess would basically have the whole house to himself, something that a few months ago Jack and Ennis would never allowed in fear they might come back to a burned down home and a runaway teen. How the times have changed.

Heading back into the house, he gazed at the small clock, telling him he still had a couple of hours before Lois or James arrived, giving him ample time to start with dinner. Grabbing a large pot from one of the cabinets, he had decided before hand that he would make some of his homemade chili. Technically the recipe belonged to his mom but he had tweaked the original recipe a lot over the years.

Once the beef had darken and all the ingredients had been added into the mix, which rested somewhere in-between a deep scarlet color, Jess pulled out a bunch of hot peppers out from the pantry. Normally he would have gone heavy handed with the peppers, which would have left a horrible burn in your mouth for the better part of a day, but since he was having guest over, he figured it would be a cruel punishment, so he forcefully restrained himself. With the stove turned down to low and a lid over the pot, all there was left to do was wait.

Plopping in front of the TV, turning it on to ABC for another rerun of Charlie's Angels, he got out his homework and started to work.

At five he heard the doorbell ring "hey Jess, its me!" came Lois's voice.

"I'm coming" he replied, getting off the couch and opening the door.

"Hello" she said cheerfully "hmm, somethin' smells good".

"Product of an hours worth of labor" he said.

"Oh, I'm so sure" she replied "did Jack and Ennis already leave?"

"Yep, almost two hours ago".

"Aw man," said Lois "wish I could have said bye ta them. Feels like I haven't seen them in ages".

"I'm sure you'll get over it" he replied.

"Watcha watching?" she asked, peering at the table "oh Charlie's Angels! I love that show!" she rushed over to the couch, taking an unoccupied cushion.

"What episode is this?" asked Lois.

"I'm not sure, I was doing homework" said Jess "besides, I only watch the episodes with Farrah Fawcett in them".

"Yeah, they never could fill that void when Farrah left" said Lois.

"Oh well, win some, lose some" he commented, sitting down next to her.

"I take it Bobby is out on a date with Tammy?" she said.

"Duh, where else would he be?" said Jess "I swear, those two have been joined at the hip ever since they started going out".

"I think its sweet," she said.

"I know Lois, I know," said Jess.

When the Angels episode had ended, Jess heard another car pull up to the house, getting off the couch and heading to the front door.

"Hey James" said Jess.

"Hey" he said, walking into the house.

"Hey James!" Lois called.

"Hey" he said again.

"Finished up packing?" Jess asked as they walked back into the living room.

"Yep" he replied.

Lois sighed "I can't believe its almost here" she said in a strained voice "one more week and you'll be gone".

"I won't be gone" he replied, "Mansfield's only an hour and a half away. Ain't like I'm moving to Japan or somethin".

"But it won't be the same" she said.

"Oh come on Lois," said Jess "we were able to survive before when it was just the two of us".

Lois shrugged "well I still don't like it. Almost as much as I don't like this history homework. I swear, I don't know what's gotten into Mr. Morgan these days".

"Two words" said Jess "cheating wife".

"Now see that's just mean," she replied, "I do not believe that Mrs. Morgan is cheating on her husband. Its just a vicious rumor, that's all".

"Vicious rumor or not, when someone calls out your wife on sleeping around" said Jess "its bound to mess with your head".

"Either way, its bullshit" she said.

"I'll help you with it" said Jess "just let me check on how dinners doing".

"Your making dinner?" asked James.

"Duh. What did you think, I let you go hungry in my house?" he replied.

* * *

Bobby was in Tammy's room, both of them with their shirts off and making out on her bed. He gently cupped his hand around the back of her head, turning over slightly so he could be on top, the taste of her tongue in his mouth and the feel of her body against his sending waves of pleasure from his brain all the way to his toes.

Lost in the moment, his free hand began to drift downward to her pants, finger instinctually looping under to undo the metal button.

"Bobby" Tammy said in a gasped breath "Bobby wait" and her hand came down to stop him.

"Is somethin' wrong?" he asked.

"No, ain't nothin' wrong" she replied.

"What is it?" he said.

She bit her lip, wiggling her way out from under him so she could lift herself up, turning her back to him.

"Tammy, what's the matter?" he asked, placing a hand on her bare shoulder.

She took a deep breath "it…its hard to explain".

"What is?" he asked.

She turned to him, eyes starting to water "can I tell you somethin?" she asked.

"Anythin" he replied.

"Will you promise not to get mad?" she said.

"Of course I won't" he said, "jus'…tell me. Please".

* * *

"Okay Lois, your turn" said Jess. The three of them had now made their way up to Jess's room, three empty bowls of chili now stacked on his bed side dresser.

Lois leaned forward, hand fishing in the bowl and pulling out one of the slips of paper. Unfurling it, she read aloud "what is your worst datin' experience?"

"Redo" said Jess, holding up the bowl.

"Hey now, jus' because I haven't got the most social life don't mean I haven't gone a date" she said.

"All right then, who?" asked Jess.

Lois shook her head "ug, I remember it as clear as day. Ronnie Blakely".

"Who's that?" he said, Jess not remembering a single person at their school named Ronnie Blakely.

"He goes to a different school now" she said, "Before he moved, his dad worked with my dad at the store. It was in sophomore year and my dad decided to take it upon himself to ask his coworker if his son would like to go on a date with me. At first I wanted ta strangle him fer it but I figured it couldn't be that bad".

"And it was" said Jess bluntly.

"Bad on so many levels" she said "I don't wanna sound mean but he was such a dweb. The whole time we were on the date he kept talking about Star Wars and why it was so much better then Star Trek. It was jus' so bad".

"That does sound brutal," said Jess "I knew a kid who was really into that stuff, and I swear, those Star Wars fans can go on for days".

"No kiddin," she said "but at least now I know the difference between a klingon and a jawa".

"Your turn James" said Jess, passing the bowl to him just as he heard the sound of the front door slam shut.

"Jess!" he heard Bobby yell "Jess!"

"What the hell?" he said, barely having gotten off the bed when Bobby barreled into his room.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph Bobby, what the fuck is wrong with you?" said Jess.

"I need ta talk ta ya, right now" he said.

"Uh…" Jess turned back to Lois and James, both of them giving him that look to see what's wrong.

"Okay, come on then" he said, following Bobby outside to the hallway, closing the door as he exited.

"Do ya mind if we talk outside fer this?" Bobby asked, eyes wide with anxiety, Jess nodding. Slowly a knot began to build in Jess's stomach, a not so good sign that something bad was going to come of this.

Walking onto the porch, Jess looked at Bobby "alright, what is the problem?" he said.

"Its Tammy" said Bobby "she's…she's pregnant".

Jess felt his heart skip a beat, his feet turning into led, and for a brief moment, the taste of vomit in his mouth "w-what?" he said in disbelief.

"She's pregnant," he said again.

Jess was silent for a moment "how does know?" he asked.

"She said that she hasn't had her period in four days now" he said.

Then the cogs in Jess's brain started to turn "wait a minute, how can she be pregnant?" he said, "you two have never had sex with each other".

Bobby lowered his face, Jess getting the hint "you didn't…when?"

"The first night at her house" he replied.

"And you didn't use a condom!" Jess yelled.

"Keep yer voice down!" he said frantically.

"Bobby! How stupid can you be?!" Jess said, ignoring Bobby's request.

"It jus'…it jus' happened!" he said "and it's not like I keep a spare on me at all times!"

"And you never bothered to tell me this why?" he asked.

"I don't have to tell you every aspect of my personal life" Bobby snapped.

"I think it does when you forget to mention the detail about how you screwed around without a rubber and now have gotten some girl knocked up" he said.

"It was stupid, I know," said Bobby.

"Stupid? Stupid! Stupid doesn't even begin to cover it!" said Jess "Bobby, this is exactly the kind of thing that can ruin a persons life!"

"I know, I know!" he yelled, face turning red "do you not think I thought about all then when she told me?! It wasn't like I planned on this ta happen!"

Jess became silent again as he tried to calm his fried nerves, carefully collecting his words before he spoke "did she at least use a pregnancy test?"

"No" he said.

"Then you don't for sure," he said "girls have late periods all the time" he walked over to Bobby, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Until then, lets not jump to conclusions, all right?" said Jess, Bobby's eyes diverted to the ground.

"Alright?" he said a bit more forcefully, Bobby nodding in response.

"Come on, lets have a seat" Jess said, indicating to the porch steps. The two of them sat, shoulder to shoulder with each other, looking out into the calm starry night, the only sound being the distant chirp of crickets.

"Even if Tammy is…pregnant" said Jess, feeling so odd saying that word "there are options for dealing with it".

"Like what?" he said.

"You know, an abortion" said Jess.

"No, no fuckin' way" said Bobby.

"Bobby-" said Jess.

"No, ain't no way I'm killin' my own kid" he said.

"Well it ain't like it is a kid" said Jess "technically, its just a bundle of cells, given the time of pregnancy-"

"I said no, I'm not killin' it," said Bobby.

Jess let out a heavy sigh "then the only other choice would be to give it up for adoption, and I'm saying that as just a last resort". When Alma had died, Jess had been sent to live in one of the orphanages and it was one of the worst days of his life.

Bobby shook his head "I already decided that I'm willing ta raise it".

"Bobby, you know you're like a brother to me," said Jess "and I am saying this as honestly as I can…that is probably the stupidest idea you have ever had. You are not ready to take care of a kid".

"So what then?" he said, getting to his feet "yer sayin' my only options are either ta kill it or get rid of it?" Jess didn't say anything.

"Fuck those options," said Bobby.

"So that's it?" said Jess "you're just going to throw your entire future away over this". Bobby lowered his head, kicking at the earth.

"All right, lets just take a moment to breath," said Jess "Jack and Ennis won't be back until Sunday evening, that gives us the whole weekend. I say you call Tammy and the two of ya go down to the grocery store and pick up a pregnancy test".

"Are you kiddin?" he said "in front of the whole town! Do you realize what they would say if they saw her pickin' that shit up!"

"Take it easy" said Jess "if your so worked up over it, then I'll go in and get it. The whole town things I'm a degenerate, so why not bolster my reputation by knocking up a girl. But you know Bobby, if the test is positive and you and Tammy go through with it, people will find out".

Bobby nodded "I know".

Jess gave a sigh "well, come on" he said, walking over to Bobby "lets head back inside. I'm thinking that this is going to require some copious of alcohol". Already in the last four hours, Jess was breaking one of the rules. This was definitely going to be a long weekend.

* * *

"Oh, fuck!" yelled Jack as Ennis plowed into him.

For some odd reason, as soon as the men had arrived at their hotel, Ennis had become all riled up and barely giving Jack time to think before he practically flung himself at him, kissing him ferociously and guiding him over to the bed, in the processes tearing off all his clothes and Jack's as well. Once that was done, Jack was just as ready and the two of them went at it.

"God damn!" Jack yelled as Ennis thrust "ah fuck yeah!"

"Ya like that?" said Ennis, only adding to his fuel; fucking Jack so hard he drove him right to the bed board.

"Ah yeah fuck me hard!" said Jack, shouts dissolving into moans as Ennis drilled into him.

"Come here" Ennis hissed, hand reaching behind Jack's head and yanking towards him, devouring his face in a deep passionate kiss, silencing his moans of joy.

A few more minutes later and Jack succumbed, body arching back as he climaxed, Ennis following shortly after him. The two laid on the bed, breathing heavily, smile crossing both of their faces.

"Jesus fuck" said Jack "what the hell was that about?"

"What? Can't I have a night of hot sex with the man I love?" he asked, kissing him lightly on the lips.

"Hey, I ain't complainin" he said "jus' I don't recall anythin' special about tonight".

"it is a special night" said Ennis "tomorrow we're gonna git Mr. DeLuca at join us and we'll be home set for the next three years".

"Finally pullin' in the money we had only dreamed about," said Jack.

"Exactly" said Ennis, kissing him on the cheek "and when that does, we're gonna celebrate" and he began to travel down Jack's neck.

"Oh? And what kind of celebration would this be?" he said.

"well, ta put it simply, if ya thought tonight was good" he came up and kissed him, eyes burning with passion "ya ain't seen nothin' yet".

Jack reached around, grabbing from behind "why wait?" he said.

"read my mind" said Ennis, tongue forcing its way into Jack's mouth, pulling his taught body to him.

"I swear Ennis, what has gotten in ta ya lately?" said Jack in between sharp hisses as Ennis exploited the sensitive spots of his neck.

He tore himself away from Jack's neck to look at him "jus' finally livin' in the moment" and before Jack could say, he quickly slipped out of sight and took his hard cock into his mouth.

* * *

Jess took another beer from the fridge, sliding it over to Bobby who was now slumped over the kitchen table; three empty beer bottles nearby while Jess continued to nurse the one he still had.

"Thanks" he mumbled, lifting his head off the table "ya sure Jack and Ennis won't notice?"

"Believe me, they won't" said Jess taking a small sip.

The house was very quite, the whole place dark except for the small kitchen light they had left on. Sensing that something was wrong when the two of them came back in, Lois and James decided it was best if they left. Ever since then, Jess and Bobby had been in that kitchen, drowning their sorrows. Well, Bobby was anyway; who was took a large swig of the beer he was giving before setting it down and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"I can't believe this is happening ta me," he said.

"Shouldn't be too down," said Jess "teen pregnancy has become a lot more common these days. Hell, they even have after school specials on them".

"Not really helping" said Bobby.

"Only trying" he replied, taking a small sip from his beer, mouth tightening slightly from the taste. Jess had never really liked alcohol, always finding it to taste more like piss then anything else.

"So just curious" said Jess "if it was a boy, what would you name it?" Bobby let out a loud groan.

"Oh come on, don't be so moody" he said "we might as well make the best of this situation".

Bobby took another drink "well, I've always like the name Braden".

"Braden?" said Jess "are you kidding? That is such a bad name".

"What's so wrong with it?" he asked.

"It's a fag name is what it is" said Jess "whenever I hear Braden, all I picture is some chubby cheek little suck up with blond hair and blue eyes. I mean, gag me with a spoon".

"All right, then what would you name it?" he asked.

"Wesley" said Jess "now that's a good name. Creative and unique, yet not too weird".

"It's alright," said Bobby, his words starting to slur now as he finished off his fourth beer.

"Okay, I think someone has had a bit to much to drink" said Jess, getting up from his chair "come on, lets get you upstairs".

Helping Bobby up, he guided him across the kitchen and up the stairs.

"And by the way" said Jess "if it's any consolation, I think you would make a great father".

Bobby snorted "yer jus' sayin' that".

"Maybe" said Jess "but its still the truth".


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up the next morning, Jess quickly threw on the closest clothes he could fine, the standard jeans and t-shirt (Gang of Four) and headed downstairs where Bobby was already seated at the table.

"Hey" said Jess "how long have you been up?"

"Awhile" he replied, rubbing his blood shot eyes "my head is killin' me".

"If ya want, I can make my special drink," said Jess.

"No thanks" said Bobby "I'm not in that much pain".

"Fine, suit yourself" he said, walking over the fridge and pulling out a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

"I already called Tammy," said Bobby "she agreed to taking the test".

"Ah good" said Jess "least that's one thing out of the way. Did she say when?"

"Wanted ta get it done as soon as possible" he said "she was going ta tell her parents that we needed ta work on somethin' fer English, said ta come over at anytime".

Jess looked over at the kitchen clock "well, we got some time to kill. The store won't open until another hour".

"Good" said Bobby "was going ta do some work on the ranch today".

"But why? We already have five ranch hands working today," said Jess.

"I need somethin' ta take my mind of things" said Bobby.

Jess shrugged "alright, I'll go tell one of them to take a hike".

"Ya sure that's a smart thing?" he asked.

"Hey, ain't like we got anything special for today" Jess replied as he got off his seat.

Slipping on his shoes, he headed outside and began to walk towards the ranch. He decided the first guy he saw was the lucky bastard to get the day off. After a brief search, his sight landed on Caleb Stokes, or as Jess liked to call him ranch hand number 19. Relatively new to the place, having been brought on just over a month ago, he was extremely handsome, and tall, with piercing green eyes, chiseled features, and short dark hair, obviously standing out from the others, who ranged from either plain and boring to beat up and haggard.

"Hey Caleb" said Jess.

He looked up from the hay he was stacking "yeah?" he asked.

"Today's your lucky day" he said, "Ya get to leave early".

He gave Jess a puzzled look "really? What for?"

"Nothing" said Jess "today was going to be a slow day anyway, so it just seems a bit of a waste to have so many working today. But if ya want to stay, go ahead, you just might be finding yourself laying around most of the time".

"No, that's fine" he said, putting down the barrel of hay he had "if ya really don't need me, I'll be on my way".

"Cool" said Jess "see ya in a few".

Another hour passed and Jess and Bobby were now on their way to the grocer's store. Pulling up into the driveway, Bobby turned off the car and gave a big sigh.

"Hey now, don't look defeated just yet" said Jess.

"I'm jus' nervous, that's all" he said.

"Well, hang tight then, I'll be right back".

Since it was still so early in the morning, hardly anyone was inside the store, making Jess's job a lot easier. Walking down the isle, he spotted the single row stacked with pregnancy tests, the boxes having developed a very noticeable layer of dust. Taking the closest one, he headed to the cashier and set it on the conveyer, the guy working giving him a suspicious look.

"Hey, it ain't like it's for me," said Jess.

Still giving him an odd look, he scanned the item "three dollars" he said.

Handing him the cash, he grabbed the pink box and headed out to the car, where Bobby now lay slumped over at the wheel.

"Got it," he said, "ya think you can handle things from here?"

"Yer not comin?" said Bobby.

"It's your problem, not mine" said Jess "just go to Tammy's and have her take the damn test. I'm going to stay here with Lois, call if me as soon as you have the results".

"Right…right" said Bobby.

"You sure you're going to be alright?" asked Jess.

Bobby nodded "yeah, jus' the nerves talkin'. We'll see when it gets there".

Taking a step back, Jess watched as Bobby pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

* * *

Ennis and Jack were now driving up to DeLuca's farm, one of the biggest ranch chains in the whole state. The two of them both knew that if they were able to get DeLuca as a business partner, it would definitely be the push they needed to break into the 'big leagues', as Jack would say.

"So Ennis" said Jack, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I know this might seem a bit random" he said "but, the whole coming out thing, have you given a thought about it?"

Ennis nodded "yeah, I have".

Jack waited for a moment "and?"

He shrugged "I dunno…I jus' think that, maybe right now isn't the best time".

"Whaddya mean?" he asked.

"Ya know, the whole business thing," said Ennis "I jus' think we aren't at that…at that comfort zone yet when we can jus'…ya know, be really honest with people. I mean, its not like I don't wanna, I jus' don't think now is the best time".

"Shouldn't mind what others think," said Jack "if any, it shows peoples true characters. After all, I wouldn't want ta work with people who hated me fer who I liked".

"Well there won't be anyone hatin' us cause they would have left us," said Ennis.

"Don't be like that" said Jack.

"I'm jus' sayin," said Ennis "once word gets out, people will probably be leavin' us".

"Ennis" he replied "I swear, you have ta blow things so out of proportion".

"Can we talk about this later?" said Ennis as they pulled into the front entrance.

Jack sighed "yeah…sure".

* * *

As Bobby rushed up to the door, Tammy beat him to the punch and opened it before he could knock.

"You got it?" she asked.

"Yeah" he replied, indicating the bag tucked under his arm.

"Hide it!" she hissed, arms shooting out and thrusting the bag deeper into the confines of Bobby's jacket "go to the upstairs bathroom, I'll be up shortly".

Nodding, he quickly pulled off his shoes and hurried up the steps, heading down the hall and through the first door on the left. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the rim of the bathtub, taking out the bag with the pregnancy test. Gripping the small pink box in his hand, he felt as though the world had stopped.

This was it, he thought, this is going to decide my future. He had always thought it be in the form of some test or what college he got into, not with something like this.

The sound of the door opening brought him back to reality, Tammy closing it behind her.

"Give it to me" she said, holding out her hand, Bobby handing the box.

Flipping it over, she muttered, "remove test, urinate on designated spot, wait thirty seconds for results".

Ripping open the flab, she pulled out the small stick, walking over to the toilet, practically ignoring Bobby as she went.

"Wait outside" she said, "This should only be a minute".

Bobby nodded, getting back up and walking back into the hall. Propping himself against the wall, he took another deep breath. As much as he didn't want the test to be right, a small part of him sort of hoped it was.

The wait seemed like forever, leaning against the wall, everything oddly quiet. The sound of his breath and the faint patter of Tammy's parents from downstairs like thunder in his ears. He just wanted it to end, the waiting and the worrying. He took another deep breath, trying to keep his nerves in check. Finally Tammy came out, head downcast.

"Well?" he asked.

She raised her head "it was negative" she said, "I'm not pregnant".

Bobby let out a sigh of relief "great" he said.

Tammy looked at him "Bobby, can we talk?"

"Sure" he replied.

They headed into her room, both of them taking a seat at the edge of Tammy's bed. She held his hand, her head still lowered as if ashamed of what she might say.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked up; whipping a tear from her eye "Bobby" she said "you know I love you, right?"

"Of course" he replied.

She nodded "good, that's good" she said.

"So what's the problem?" he asked.

"It's jus'…" she began, sentence fading a bit before continuing "I jus' think that, with what's gone on and all, I think maybe we were takin' things too fast".

Bobby felt his heart clench "w-what do you mean?"

"I think that maybe we rushed into things" she said "I mean, with Macarthur and all, that first night and now this?"

"What are you sayin?" Bobby asked.

Tammy was silent for a bit, collecting her words before she spoke "I jus' think that…maybe we should take a break. Jus' until we can work things out and see where it takes us".

He thought he was going to be sick. His stomach churned, his heart really felt like it ached, and his mind went blank.

"It's not that I'm breakin' up with you" she said "we jus' need to slow things down a bit".

His mind slowly coming back to him, he nodded his head "o-okay" he said, wincing inside when he realized his voice cracked.

Come on Bobby, keep it together, he thought. don't let her think you're a pussy, suck it up and get out of there before you do anything you might regret.

"please Bobby, you have to understand" she said "its not you, its me. I jus' need time to get things straight before we go any further".

Bobby nodded "right. I…understand" keep it together, keep it together, keep it together, repeating the sentence over and over in his head.

She smiled slightly "look, I'll see you at school, alright?"

"okay" he replied, voice a whisper "I'll see ya then".

Slowly getting up, he made his way to the door, not even looking back just in case she saw the tears now starting to well up in his eyes.

Don't cry dammit! He shouted inside, don't fucking cry!

Picking up his pace, he hurried down the stairs, grabbing his shoes and running out the door, not even bothering to put them on. Fumbling with his keys, he got into the car, jammed them into the ignition and went flying down the driveway and back onto the street.

Only then did he let the tears stream down.

* * *

"God, the suspense is killin' me!" exclaimed Lois, nervously wandering around her small apartment style house.

"it ain't like we're finding out who shot JR" Jess replied.

"this is bigger then some stupid television show!" she exclaimed "Tammy may actually be carrying Bobby's baby! This is huge!"

"sheesh Lois, if you're so desperate to know, why not just ask the guy" said Jess.

"no way! That would be so inconsiderate!" she said "jus' going up ta Bobby and askin' whether or not he's gonna be a proud daddy, that's just so insensitive!"

"so what? Your gonna leave me to find out?"

"well, you are the closest thing he has ta a brother" she said.

Jess looked over at the clock "It's been over an hour. pretty sure those test only take thirty seconds".

"maybe you should go home and see if he's there" she said "he might be in bad shape".

"I guess" he said "mind driving me home?"

"no problem" said Lois "let me fetch my keys".

Driving down the road, Lois was oddly quiet, Jess figuring she was just to wound up to even talk. The silence starting to unnerve him, Jess thought up of something to say, though nothing came to mind.

After an agonizing drive, they finally pulled up to his house, Bobby's car already parked near the front of the house.

"guess he's home" Jess said.

"you better see what's up" said Lois.

He nodded "I'll call you".

"right" she replied.

"Lois".

"Yeah?"

Jess paused "could you promise me that this won't get out?"

"of course I will" said Lois "besides, who would listen ta me?"

he smiled "true".

Lois shifted the car "talk ta ya soon".

He waved her goodbye, watching as her car soon disappeared beyond the road. Turning back to the house, he walked up onto the porch and opened the door. Bobby was neither in the living room, nor the kitchen. That only left his room.

Walking up the stairs, he approached Bobby's room, ears straining to see if he could hear something but all he could pick up was silence. Gently knocking on the door, I didn't hear a response.

"Bobby?" he asked "its me. can I come in?" still nothing.

"I'm coming in" he said, twisting the doorknob and slowly cracking the door open.

he saw him lying on the bed, his head buried into his pillow. Not a good sign at all. shutting the door behind him, he walked over to the side of the bed and took a seat.

"Bobby?" Jess asked.

not even a twitch. He was dead to the world.

Jess grasped his shoulder "Bobby, tell me what happened. Bobby…Bobby…come on, answer me".

After a moment, he finally moved. Raising himself up, Jess saw that his face was wet and his eyes red, the pillowcase stained with a fair amount of teardrops.

"She's not pregnant" he said in a horse voice.

Jess let out a huge sigh, giving a silent thank you. Then he started to wonder why he was so upset. Could he have really wanted the kid? Jess thought, or did something happen between him and Tammy?

"what's the matter?" he asked.

Bobby propped himself up, sitting next to Jess, sleeve rubbing against his bloodshot eyes "Tammy wants to take a break".

"I'm sorry about that" said Jess.

"I kinda figured" he replied "after all that".

Jess slung his arm over Bobby's shoulder "you gonna be alright?"

He nodded "I think so. Jus' need a little bit of time".

"Good" replied Jess "and I don't know if this might help or not, but if you guys are just taking a break, I'm sure Tammy still has feelings for ya".

Bobby gave a hollow laugh "yeah, that's what she said".

"Then she must have meant it," said Jess "Tammy doesn't strike me as that kinda girl who would go back on her word".

He didn't respond, just giving a small, almost inaudible grumble. After a moment, Bobby spoke again.

"You gonna tell Jack and Ennis about this?" he asked.

"Not unless you're going to" he replied "this is your situation, not mine".

"What should I do?"

Jess thought it over "I think you should tell them" he said "but only if you want to and only if your ready".

"If I'll ever be" said Bobby "Jack would kill me if I told him".

"Jack wouldn't do that," said Jess "maybe Ennis would, but I don't think that should stop you from telling them. It ain't like you actually knocked her up, it was only a scare".

"But they know I would have done it" he replied "and the fact I did it without a condom-"

"Bobby" Jess cut him off "just stop. Your worrying too much over something you haven't even seen yet. If you don't wanna tell them, fine, that's your choice. And until you do tell them, ya gotta stop beating yourself over it".

Bobby nodded, hand rubbing away the last tear "thanks Jess" he said, "I needed that".

"Don't mention it" Jess said.

* * *

As the day wore on, Bobby slowly began to rebuild his confidence. Thanks in most part to Jess's help, he was able to get through most of the day without thinking about Tammy, the pregnancy scare, all of it had taken a back seat in his mind. There were moments when the thoughts would occasionally slip past his defenses, his mindset swaying a bit as the emotions he had felt before started to boil up again. Eventually though he would break free of it and push those feelings back down into the recesses of his mind.

Now sitting on the couch, empty bowl from Jess's chili on the ground, all he was focused on was trying to get through this day.

"A good, a Farrah episode" commented Jess as he settled on ABC and a rerun of Charlie's Angels, Bobby nodding in response.

"You okay?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he replied.

"Cause I don't want ya breaking down on me" he said "cause I swear, there were like two times today when I thought you might lose it".

"I think I got it," said Bobby.

Just then, the phone began to ring, both of the boys turning their heads out the sound of the loud ringing.

"I'll get it," said Jess. Bobby let out a small sigh, cause he feared that Jack or Ennis was on the other line.

Jess picked up the phone "hello?…oh, uh, hi. Um good, you? Okay, that's good. Sure, I'll get him. Bobby!"

He turned towards Jess "what?" he asked.

"Its your mom" he replied.

Bobby's face twisted in confusion. Out of all the people, his mom would have been the last person he would have thought of. Getting up from the couch, he grabbed the phone from Jess and giving him a moment to prepare himself, he placed the receiver to his ear.

"Hi mom" he said.

"hello Bobby" came his mom's chilly voice, though he could have sworn that is was not as cold as it had used to be "how are you?"

"fine" he replied.

"how's school going?" she asked.

"um, okay" he said "I was able to raise my English up to a C, as well as my math".

"that's good" she said "where's yer father?"

"uh…he and Ennis are out on a business trip" he said.

"oh really? What for?"

"the ranch" he replied "ya know, they've been branchin' out and stuff, tryin' ta make the business bigger".

"how's that going?"

"pretty good. We're makin' more money then we have before" he said that last part with pride.

"good" she said "good for him. do you know when he'll be back?"

"Tomorrow" said Bobby "if things go well. Uh, can I ask why?"

"Well as you know Bobby, spring break is next week," she said.

Bobby was well aware of that fact. There were three times out of the whole year when he would go to visit his mom down in Childress. The first was the week of spring break, followed by a two week period sometime during the summer, and finally over Labor Day weekend. But ever since the divorce, these periods have gotten lesser and lesser. Last Labor Day was the first time in four years Lureen was able to take him, while his stays for spring break have gotten progressively shorter with last year being the shortest at just two days. As for the summer, she was so busy that she could only come down for a short visit and then had to immediately drop him off at the house in order to get to her meeting. Ironically, this was the same day that Jess arrived.

Now with this, Bobby's first assumption was that she was calling to say that she couldn't take him for the whole week, that or she was canceling it all together.

He braced himself "yeah, I know".

"I was going to call Jack and tell him that I've made some changes regarding you stayin' with us," she said.

That was unexpected. Lureen had never been known to change Bobby's visiting days, cancel yes but never to alter.

"Oh, okay" he said "um, why?"

"I was hoping that instead of you coming to visit us" she said "that maybe we can come to stay with you".

Bobby went stone still, an instant replaying going off in his head at what he heard. Did his mom really say that she was going to come and visit him, in Shattuck? He would never have believed it if someone had told him before.

He didn't respond right away, instead mouth gaping like some fish gasping for breath before any words came out.

"W-wow, mom, that's a surprise" he said, "um, can I ask why though?"

"Bobby" she began "ever since me and Jack have divorced, I have tried my best to separate as much as myself from his life and mine. But now I see that hasn't been workin' out so well, and I want to make amends for it".

She paused before continuing, "as much as I try to ignore the fact, I have to accept what Jack really is. And no matter who it is he's married to, we are still a family. That's why I want to take this time to mend all this bickerin' between yer grandpa and Jack, get ta know Jess more, and actually have a chance ta know Ennis".

"Grandpa is comin?" he asked.

"Not yet, I haven't told him" she said "but trust me, he'll come, as well as grandma. They need to hone up for their actions as well…especially yer grandpa".

Bobby thought it over for a moment "that…that sounds great mom. I'll have ta talk ta Jack and Ennis about it when they get back but…yeah, I think that would be great".

Lureen was silent as well "then it's settled. Since me and grandpa will be busy over spring break, we'll have ta make the occasion over Memorial Day weekend. Will that be alright?"

"I think so" said Bobby "again, have ta see what dad and Ennis are doing but I think we can do that".

"Tell Jack ta call me when he gets back" said Lureen "we'll discuss it more then".

"Okay mom" he said.

"I'll talk ta ya soon, okay?"

"Yeah"

"Bye Bobby" she said.

"Bye" he said, the phone going dead almost as soon as the word got out.

Hanging up the phone, he headed back to the living room, Jess turning his head as he entered.

"What did she want?" he asked.

"Apparently she's coming for a visit" he replied.

Jess raised an eyebrow "as in…like, an actual visit? Here?" he nodded his head.

"Seems a bit random," he continued, "did she say why?"

"She wants to try and work out our problems," he said.

"A bit late for that" Jess commented, Bobby nodding slightly. Although he did agree with Jess partially, at least his mom was trying to work through her issues with him, as well with Jack and Ennis. He thought it was the most motherly thing she has ever done since he had known her.

"You know, L.D. is comin' as well," he said.

An amused expression crossed his face "oh really?" he said, "That should be interesting".

"You think it's a good idea?" asked Bobby "I mean, although my mom may be willin' to, I'm not so sure about L.D."

Jess snorted "ya kidding? The day he learns to accept Jack and Ennis is the day he loses ten pound. But hey, bring him along. He makes an excellent punching bag".

"Ya know, this isn't about doggin' anyone out" he said.

"I know, don't get your boxers in a bunch" said Jess "all I know is if he throws one fag comment at me, the gloves are off. Speaking of which, shouldn't ya call Jack and Ennis to tell them about this?"

"It's a bit late," said Bobby.

"So? Back in New York, this would still be considered the afternoon" said Jess "and its only eight, I highly doubt they will be asleep. Call them".

Bobby nodded, getting back up from his seat. As he passed, Jess grabbed him by the sleeve.

"And in all seriousness" said Jess "I think Lureen is really trying to reach out".

He nodded "I know" he said, "its jus'…like what ya said, it's a bit late".

"At least she's trying," said Jess.


	9. Chapter 9

Sunday evening was spent in somber silence. After the events of the entire weekend, all Jess wanted to do was take an emotional day off. Spring was supposed to be the time of year when things started over. Instead if was as if the drama from last year had been transferred from Jess to Bobby, Jack, and Ennis, as if his previous affliction had taken on a new form and was slowly infecting everyone else around him.

Right now he was at the table finishing his schoolwork, Bobby out on the ranch finishing up some things before the guys got home.

When Bobby had told them about Lureen's plans, Jack's first response was that of disbelief before slowly transpiring over to optimism, although Jess assumed this was only a front. He knew very well neither him nor Ennis was looking forward to a visit from Lureen and L.D. (most specifically L.D.)

Jess wasn't exactly looking forward to it either, but he did think Lureen was actually being sincere about her efforts. It was probably the most she's ever done to reach out for her son.

The two of them had retreated to the patio outside. The night was pleasantly warm and the stars were out that night, the perfect evening to end an otherwise terrible weekend.

"Are you gonna tell them?" asked Jess, Bobby sitting on the porch step one down from him.

"I haven't decided yet," he said.

"I'm beating a dead horse here but you know you'll have to tell them soon" he said.

"For the hundredth time, I know" said Bobby "I jus' have to fine the right time to tell them".

"Suite yourself" he said, gaze diverting to the sound of wheels on the gravel "here they come".

"You make it sound so bad," Bobby said.

"Parents coming home is always bad," said Jess "no matter how great they are".

They parked the car, Jack exiting from the driver's side, immediately spotting the two teens.

"Hey guys," he said, "what are ya doing outside?"

"Such a nice night, why waste it?" replied Jess "how did the thingy go?"

"If you are referrin' to the DeLuca deal," he replied, "then it went great! Biggest fuckin' deal in our career and we got it!"

"That's really great dad," said Bobby, trying his best to hide his troubled emotions "that's pretty awesome if I say so myself".

"And so what does that mean for us?" asked Jess.

"For one thing, we are set for life," said Ennis, taking the luggage from the back "we can now afford college, fer the both of ya. And we'll finally be able to live a little".

"As in a little, do you mean cable and a new TV set?" asked Jess "cause I would like to watch CBS in my own home without resorting to go to Lois's house every night".

"Lets not get ahead of ourselves," said Ennis "when I mean little, I mean better farmin' equipment, some new furniture-"

"Furniture? Farming equipment?" said Jess "are you kidding? Does anyone in the south have any concept of fun?"

"Reasonable thinkin' ain't always fun" replied Jack, helping Ennis take the luggage in.

Jess set the table and pulled out the chicken from the oven. Bobby remained in the living room the whole time, while the guys continued unpacking from upstairs. Once everything was placed, Jess called everyone down and soon they were all at the table.

Unbeknownst to Jack and Ennis, an ominous air hung over the table. Bobby at his dinner in stone silence, occasionally looking up to see Jess staring back at him, absently chewing his food, barely recognizing the taste.

"Really nice dinner Jess" said Jack.

"Oh, thanks" he replied, enthusiasm absent from his voice.

This time they noticed, "is somethin' wrong Jess?" he asked.

"No, nothing" he said "I just have a lot on my mind, nothing to be concerned about".

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure" he replied, taking a mouthful of mashed potatoes, nearly choking on how much he took it.

"How about you Bobby, you've been awful quiet," he said.

He shook his head "I'm jus'…tired".

God Bobby, you are such a bad liar, thought Jess. Though thankfully, Jack was easily convinced and laid of any more questions.

After a brief pause, Jack placed his fork down "alright guys" he said, "there's somethin' that Ennis and I should tell you". Jess raised his head, Bobby doing the same

"What?" asked Jess.

"Ennis, ya wanna tell them?" he said.

Ennis nodded, hands letting go of his fork, rubbing them on his jeans "while we were at DeLuca's" he said "me and Jack have finally made our decision on tellin' people about us".

Both Jess and Bobby stopped what they were doing "and?" asked Jess.

"we were goin' ta tell the workers tomorrow" said Ennis "we thought it would be for the best ta tell them first".

Jess looked at Bobby, who stared back at him with a mix of shock and worry. They didn't say anything, their looks pretty much doing all the talking for them. Jess saying that now would be the best time to say something, while Bobby vehemently giving him a no.

"I thought you guys were gonna wait a bit longer" said Jess, breaking the silence "you know, when things picked up".

"And they have" said Jack "more then we ever thought so. And now with this new deal, we're pretty much set for life".

"We jus' wanted ta tell you guys first" said Ennis "before we did anythin'. You are alright with this? Right?"

Jess paused before he answered, "like I said before, I don't care".

"Bobby?" asked Jack.

He nodded "you should do it" he said "really dad".

"well good then" said Jack, a smile crossing his face, going back to his dinner.

Asking Bobby to help clear off the table so the guys could finish unpacking, they took up positions at the kitchen sink. Jess in charge of washing and Bobby with drying. Letting the warm soapy water wash over his hands, Jess looked over to see Bobby with his head down, obediently wiping away the glass in his hand.

"Now would probably be the best time" said Jess.

"I'm not in the mood," he said darkly.

"Better you tell them then someone else".

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"It's a small town Bobby" Jess replied "and it doesn't take long for secrets to come out. Pretty much all people have to do around here is gossip".

"Tammy won't say anythin," he said.

"And that clerk at the store won't?" said Jess.

"You said you were okay with it".

"I know" Jess said, letting the plate grasped in his hand slip to the bottom of the sink "but do you really think they're gonna believe I had any purpose for that pregnancy test?"

"Kids at school seem ta think you and Lois are a thing," said Bobby.

"Okay fine, maybe for a few days" said Jess "put the truth will come out eventually" he picked up the plate he let go, rinsing off the last specks of food.

"No truth can stay buried forever," said Jess.

* * *

Ennis anxiously put his hands into his pockets, feet practically boring a hole into the dirt as he and Jack now faced their entire crew. Although they had both decided on this, Ennis still couldn't shake off the feeling of dread and anxiety at the thought of announcing to not only their staff but the whole town, it was beyond scary.

He cleared his throat, praying that this was quick.

"Well" he began "we have called ya'll here today because…we have something to tell ya". He paused, a small bead of sweat slowly starting to form at the side of his head as the dozens of eyes stared him down.

"As you know, things have really been…really been going well" he continued "actually better then well, its pretty great. But…before we went…any further with this, we jus' wanted…ta say one thing".

Oh god, this was it. Everything that Jack and him had started all those years ago, all comes down to this. Suddenly everything felt heavy, his clothes, his hands, his feet, as if weights had been mounted on all parts of his body. he was finding it hard to breath and his mind began to spin with dozens of images, most of them showing angry faces and pitchforks. His already shaky mind seemed to have reached his breaking point and he didn't think he could do it.

So Jack had to step in instead "what Ennis is tryin' ta say is" he said "is that for a very long time, me and him…have been romantically involved".

The look on their faces slowly changed, from concern, from mildly bored, from stoic, all of these looks, each one shifted into an almost shocked expression. There were a few whispers amongst them, definitely some harsh words thrown in. too Ennis's mild surprise, this was a bit better then he expected.

"I know this might be a shock to most of ya" said Jack "and I know some of ya may have mixed feelin's. So I'll make this simple. None of ya are bound here by chains. If you have any problem with us, anythin' at all, yer free ta go".

at first no one moved, a lot of them still recovering from the sudden revelation. However the shocks slowly dissipated. The first guy to get up was an elderly man, who simply kept his head down, muttering something under his breath. Another soon followed, not even bothering to look at Jack or Ennis.

Two more left and they weren't as polite. One of them spat at their feet and the other muttered the word fagot, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Two more minutes and the last one dislocated himself from the crowd and walked off.

"alright" said Jack "glad that's settled. For those of ya stayin', I appreciated yer support and understandin', really means a lot".

A few of them nodded but the rest were mute, some barely nodding their heads, as if thinking that they might have made the biggest mistake of their lives.

"great, now, lets all get back ta work" said Jack.

Fanning out from the group, the remaining ranch hands set off to do their work. One of them, a guy name Tony Marcel, came up to them.

"look, Mr. Twist, Mr. Del Mar" he said.

"if ya wanna leave Marcel" said Jack "its alright with us".

"no, it ain't that" he said, shaking his head "I jus' wanted ta make one thing clear, if that's okay with ya both".

Jack looked at Ennis, who simply nodded, his mind still wrapped up in the preceding events, simply finding it hard to believe they had actually just did that.

"go ahead" Jack said.

Tony took a breath "I've been a proud Christian, all of my life. go ta church every Sunday and what not. I don't approve of…both of yer's relationship, don't think its natural. As much as I hate ta see two such great men like yerself doing somethin' like this, it really ain't my place ta say otherwise".

For the first time he looked at both of them right in the eye "I know that this is gonna spread ta the town, and I jus' wanted ta tell ya that I'm here fer ya. despite what you two are, still doesn't change the fact that both of ya are great, upstanding fella's, and I'll make sure everyone is reminded of that".

Ennis felt a small warmth bloom in his heart. He hadn't expected something like that, not even in the wildest of his imaginations. Maybe Jack was right, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Whether that was true had yet to be determine, but for right now, it was a small miracle, and Ennis couldn't be any happier.

Jack was a lot more vocal about his feelings "thanks Tony, I really appreciate that".

"Its nothin" he replied. Giving them one final smile, he hurried off to do his work.

Caleb Stokes approached them as well, Ennis's high immediately being squashed and all his previous doubts entering his mind. He knew things were just to good to be true without some sort of consequence.

"Somethin' wrong Caleb?" asked Jack.

"Nothin' man, nothin" he said, a smile crossing his face "I jus' wanted ta congratulate ya both. I mean, that right there, sure took some balls".

"Uh…well, thanks Caleb" said Ennis.

"And since we're on the topic" he said "I think it probably be best if I started being truthful".

At first, Ennis didn't know what he meant. But after slowly replaying the sentence back in his mind, he came to the realization, only to have Jack speak his concerns first.

"Ya mean" he began "yer…?"

"Yep" he said "and proud of it. Only reason I've kept it a secret was…well, as ya jus' saw that kinda news don't exactly fly well with other. Thought I wouldn't even get a job here if I told ya guys. But now with what's jus' happened, figured I better hone up as well".

As if the day's surprises couldn't get any higher. Shit, Ennis wouldn't be surprised if someone told him the world had stopped spinning.

As usual, Jack picked up the speech "well we appreciate that Caleb".

"don't mention it" he said "but I do ask if maybe ya be a bit discreet about it. like I said before, proud of what I am, it was what God made me ta be, but I'm jus' not ready fer anyone else ta knows jus' yet".

"don't worry, we won't say anythin' till yer ready" said Jack.

"thanks a lot ya guys" he said, flashing them a big smile "well, better be off ta work, huh?"

"yeah, ya better do that" said Ennis, finally coming out of his silent faze.

As Caleb walked off, leaving the two men alone, Ennis heard Jack let out a long sigh.

"well I'll be a monkey's uncle" he said "that turned out better then I'd ever thought".

"no shit" was Ennis's only reply.

"and you thought somethin' bad was gonna happen" Jack chided.

"hey, ya never know" Ennis replied.

"this here's a good sign Ennis" said Jack "I'm telling' ya, things are only gonna get better".

"yeah" said Ennis, a note of happiness in his voice, for once trying to let go of all the bad things and instead concentrate on the good of the situation "they are".

* * *

"Our last week together as a whole" said Lois as Jess joined her and James at their usual spot for lunch outside on the hill.

"are you going to be doing that every day?" asked Jess.

"doing what?" she said.

"the whole 'last' thing" he said "like last Tuesday as a whole, last lunch together, last time going to the movies-"

"Well its true!" said Lois "and I think we need ta take a moment to acknowledge that! don't cha think so James?"

"its not that big of a deal" he replied "its not like I'll be gone for good. Mansfield is only a few hours away".

"but we can't come see you every so often!" said Lois "and besides, I don't wanna hafta spend every week drivin' up ta Mansfield for two hours jus' ta see you".

"wow Lois, really act like the bitch" said Jess.

"I'm only speakin' the truth" she said "and anyway, we need ta think of somethin' ta do over the weekend to celebrate-" here it comes, thought Jess "James last weekend".

"we can go to a movie" Jess suggested.

"but we always go to a movie" she said "it hasta be somethin' special".

"well, its not like there's anythin' else ta do around here" he said "god, I wish we could be in New York-"

"and you say I repeat things" said Lois.

"Just saying, you can do a whole lot of shit in New York" Jess said.

"I don't mind goin' to a movie" said James "I like it when we all go".

"Aw, thanks James" said Lois, "but even so, is there anything good out?"

"I hear The Outsiders is suppose to be good," said Jess.

"I actually want ta see that" said James "I read the book. Only school book I've ever read the whole way through".

"yet another shining example of our countries education system" remarked Jess.

"alright, movies then" said Lois "but we still need ta do somethin' for ya".

"I'm sure we'll think of something" said Jess.

"yeah, hopefully" said Lois, pulling out her sketchbook.

The thought of telling them about Jack and Ennis's 'coming out' came into mind. At first Jess thought he should wait to tell them.

"hey, you never told us about Tammy and Bobby" came Lois's voice, snapping him out of his daze.

"I didn't?" he said.

"No!" she exclaimed, "now come on, spill!"

Jess finished off his apple before speaking "well, good news first, Tammy's not pregnant".

Lois let out a sigh of relief, James nodding in agreement "well that's a relief" she said "I mean, it would have been nice if she was, but still, that is a relief".

"So what's the bad news?" asked James.

"Bad news is, she broke up with him" he said.

"What?! Why?" asked Lois.

"Actually, I shouldn't say broke up" said Jess "more like, they're taking a break, but really, that's kind of the same thing".

"Poor Bobby" said Lois "and I thought they would last forever".

"Dream on Lois" said Jess "I mean, how often is it that high school sweethearts get married?"

"Stop being so pessimistic" said Lois "but besides that, how's Bobby holdin' up?"

Jess shrugged "good. Not to say he isn't pretty shaken up by it, but he's doing as well as we can expect".

"I hope Bobby recovers quickly" said Lois "he's such a sweet guy".

"yeah, he's pretty cool" said James.

"Jack and Ennis came out today" Jess said suddenly. The thought had been building up inside him for so long that it just couldn't be contained and he had to let it out.

at first, Lois and James were surprised at this sudden outburst, but after a moment, the words sunk in and the realization now crossed their faces.

"really!" said Lois "like today? Today today?"

"that's what I just said" he replied "should have told the ranch hands by now I would think and by tomorrow, everyone will know".

"holy mother fuckin' shit!" Lois exclaimed "when did this come on! Did you know? Why didn't you say anythin!"

"Jeez Lois, give the guy some room" said James.

"I'm sorry but this…this…I mean, one big story after another!" she exclaimed "oh my god, tell!"

"There's not much to say" said Jess "and to answer your question before, they only just told us yesterday when they got back".

"Wow" Lois said, the excitement now having died down "that is jus' so great, I am beyond proud at them".

"Gotta say, takes someone real strong ta do somethin' like that" said James.

"yeah well, don't get your hopes to high up" said Jess "you guys may be accepting and all, but just you wait till they find out" when he said they, he pointed to the school.

Lois waved her hand "who cares what they think. fuck'em, I say".

"its not that I care about what they say" said Jess "like I sad before, I could give two shits about what they say about me. as far as I can tell, I can go no lower then I already am. I'm just worried about how this will affect Bobby and Jack, and Ennis".

"Jack and Ennis are two tough sons a bitches" said Lois "they can take care of themselves. Same for Bobby. Besides, he's outta here in jus' a few months, so why should he give a fuck what they say?"

"I just don't want this to come crashing down on us" said Jess.

"it won't" said Lois "I know you all so well and I know you four can handle this".

"I agree with Lois" said James.

Although Jess nodded, the fears inside him still slithered inside him like a hungry snake. He hoped they were right…he really hope so.

* * *

That night, as Ennis slipped out of his clothes and Jack took a shower in the adjoining bathroom. Crawling into bed, he waited until Jack finished up in the bathroom. After awhile, the sound of the running water stopped, the faint sound of the shower curtain being heard from the door.

The door cracked open, the light from the bathroom spilling into the room, Jack's naked body now preoccupying the frame, small beads of water still running down his skin.

"Hey" he said, sauntering over to the bed.

"Hey" replied Ennis, taking Jack into his arms and kissing him, t-shirt dampening slightly as their bodies touched.

Hand coming down to grab that ass he loved so much, Ennis flipped Jack over so he was on top, his other pulling down his boxers and pushing himself inside.

Jack made a small gaping motion with his mouth, Ennis slowly thrusting, taking his time. He leaned down, kissing him once again, the smell of shampoo filling his nostrils. After a bit of this, he began to pick up speed, his motions becoming faster, more aggressive, Jack's mouth curling into a smile, knowing all too well what was coming next.

Digging his feet into the mattress, Ennis started to slam into Jack, the sound of his body colliding into his ass making an audible clap. He began to moan beneath him, hand wrapping around his head until his neck snapped back and he gave a cry before he came.

Finishing up soon after him, Ennis pulled himself out and took the empty side of the bed, his white shirt now dotted with watermarks.

"That was unexpected," said Jack.

"Figured it be the right thing" replied Ennis "after today".

"Yeah" he replied, turning over to face him, hand wrapping around his body and resting his head in the crook of Ennis's shoulder "even fer me, I'm surprised at how well things went".

"I thought maybe we might lose half of our staff," said Ennis "or get ourselves a verbal lashin".

"I admit, I had my doubts" he said "but I sorta knew things would go well".

"Sure ya did," said Ennis in a lighthearted tone.

"Shut up" replied Jack, gently punching him in the chest "what surprised me most was Caleb".

Ennis nodded "I agree. Swear, I thought that kid was as straight as could be".

"Like they thought we were" said Jack.

"Exactly" said Ennis "jus' goes ta show ya, can never know fer certain".

"Yeah" replied Jack, going silent for a moment "he's really cute, ya know".

"Hell yeah" he said "almost gave me a hard on the first time he came here lookin' fer a job".

"I knew it," said Jack.

"Hey, guy can admire" he said.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly innocent either" Jack replied, "Do ya think he's seein' anyone?"

"Wouldn't be surprised," said Ennis "but then again, this is Shattuck".

Jack nodded "ya think maybe he's interested in me?"

Ennis was about to answer when he stopped "why do ya wanna know?" he asked.

"Dunno bout you, but I sure would love ta get him in the sack" said Jack.

He went silent, now realizing what this was about. The threesome thing. It had seemed like forever since they last discussed it, Ennis almost thinking maybe Jack had forgotten about it.

His silent perked Jack's attention "you are still okay with it, right? Cause if not, I completely understand-".

"No, it ain't that," said Ennis "I already told ya, I'm okay with it, and of course, if he's even interested…but ain't he kinda young?"

"He's only a few years younger then us" said Jack "look Ennis, ya don't have ta pretend, if ya don't-"

"Jack really, I'm alright with it" said Ennis "really, I am. I thought we already had this discussion".

"I jus' want ta make sure," said Jack "I don't wanna force ya inta doing somethin' yer not comfortable with".

"And I'm tellin' you" said Ennis, kissing him again "I am alright with it".

Jack smiled slightly, pulling himself closer to Ennis, who returned the gesture "however, yer gonna hafta ask him" said Ennis. There were just some things he was not comfortable at all talking about in front of others, no matter how long the years past.

And like before, that same uneasy feeling entered into him. This idea was now becoming real and although Ennis said he could handle it, just the thought of Jack being with someone other then him still made his blood simmer. Even the thought of him being with Lureen for all those years still made him uncomfortable.

Maybe he wasn't as prepared as he thought he was. Looking down, he saw Jack had already fallen asleep. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he stretched out his arm and turned off the nearby bed lamp.

For the entire night, sleep was almost impossible.

* * *

**Authors note: hey everyone, sorry about the long wait, I have just been so busy, with school and juggling two other fics, things just piled up on me. I'll try to update again ASAP but just to forewarn you I might not be updating as much till certain stuff dies down.**


	10. Chapter 10

The moment that Jess woke that morning, he had the worst sinking feeling, never a good sign. Another of his useless talents (he considered it his sixth sense), it always indicated that today was not going to be a good one.

At breakfast things went by okay, the same with the drive over, but as soon as they pulled into the school parking lot, he could sense it.

Stepping out of the car, people began to look at them, whispering to each other, some even pointing. And the whole air was that dense feeling, the one you experience after some scandelous event. Of course Jess thought, that uneasy feeling he had that morning now crystal clear.

"Looks like word is out" he remarked to Bobby.

"Yeah" he said.

"You gonna be okay?" said Jess.

Bobby nodded "I will".

"Cause ya know, I can give ya some pointers" said Jess, who had mastered the role of high school outcast to a tee.

"That won't be necessary," said Bobby.

Shifting his backpack, the two headed towards the entrance. As they made their way, people seemed to naturally move away from them, as if they might catch some infectious disease.

Two girls passed them, both of them giving the two teens very nasty looks. At the top a nearby boy spat near their feet.

"Missed" remarked Jess, not even phased by this hostile crowd. Looking over at Bobby, he had his head lowered slightly, face darkening slightly.

When the two got to their lockers, things only got worse. One guy deliberately bumped into Bobby, hard, the sound of his body making an audible thump as it hit the metal. Cursing slightly, he picked up the book he dropped on the floor.

In the background, Jess was aware of two girls whispering franticly about them.

"I always knew something was up with that Jess kid" said one "and now it all makes sense! No wonder he dresses like some street thug"

"Him I can understand" said the other "but Bobby? He seemed so normal".

"Just goes ta show ya, you can never know for sure. You think maybe he's…?"

"course not, he and that Tammy girl are going out. but ya know what I think? I think that's probably the reason why Beer's mom left his dad, cause she found out".

"ya think he was having an affair when they were married?"

"duh? Why else? And then when he found out, must have really gotten into his head, really fucked him up, ya know?"

"It does make a lot of sense. And with the people he hangs out with. Ya know, that scary kid?"

"The one who looks like an escaped convict? Ya, I know".

"And that Lois girl too. She is so weird".

"Tell me about it. I had her last year in English, girl would spend the entire class time drawing on her textbooks".

"Until that Jess kid came along, she practically had no friends".

"Because she was so weird that no one wanted ta hang out with her".

"Can I help you two?" said Jess loudly, having gotten irritated by their conversation. They instantly shut up and hurried down the hall.

"On and on and on" said Jess, pulling out his book "it was like a couple of whining cats".

As he extended his hand for his binder, his locker door slam shut on him, out of the corner of his eyes he could make out the familiar, douche baggy face of Macarthur and his gang of goons.

"Well, now everythin' makes sense" he said in a snide voice.

"Macarthur" said Jess "so lovely to see you".

"Ya know, I always knew there was somethin' wrong with ya" he continued "and now I understand why".

"Yep, you figured it out" he said, turning to face him "I'm the son of a faggot, messed up on the inside and destined for a life in hell with my sinful father, I know the script. So why don't you tell someone who gives a fuck?"

"oh believe me, I will" he said "I mean come on, you were a lost cause the moment ya stepped inta this school. But you Bobby"

Moving on from him, the group began to migrate over to Bobby, who instantly shut his locker, face stern, fist clenching in preparation for a fight.

"You I'm jus' so disappointed in" he said.

"Comin' from you, that be a compliment" said Bobby.

"All this time, ya been actin' like the big man, the football star, datin' my girl" he said "but the truth of the matter is, yer nothin' more then the offspring of some god damn, cock sucking, ass fuckin' faggot".

At this, Bobby pushed him violently, the blow so unexpected it sent Macarthur right of his feet and barreling into his friends, barely keeping himself up right.

"you can say whatever ya want about me" he hissed "but I swear ta god Macarthur, you talk about my dad like that and I will fuck you up".

"oh, I'm so scared" said Macarthur, who had regained his footing and now approaching Bobby again "whaddya gonna do huh? Pull my hair? Scratch me? Come on, I'm curious, what kind of fag fightin' has yer daddy taught ya?"

"I could beat yer ass before" he said, getting right up in Macarthur's face "and I can do it now".

"What is going on here?" said one of the teachers "shouldn't ya'll be gettin' ta class?"

This ended the confrontation. Macarthur began to step back, raising his arm and pointing at Bobby.

"This ain't over Twist" he said "if I were ya, I better watch yer back. Cause right now, yer all alone". And they left, disappearing down the hall.

Jess put a hand on Bobby's shoulder "you alright?"

"fine" he replied "I jus' need a moment ta cool off".

The bell rang, the halls having long since been emptied, leaving them the only two left. for Jess, it seemed like an ominous sign giving what Macarthur what said.

"you wanna take a walk?" asked Jess "clear your mind?"

Bobby nodded "that sounds nice".

They walked down the hall and out the main entrance, in the schools front yard, which was just like any lawn you'd fine at some neighborhood home. They decided to just hang out on the steps, Jess on the top leaning against the metal railing and Bobby at the bottom, head hung low.

"We knew things were gonna be tough" said Jess.

"I know," said Bobby.

"We even said we wanted them to do it" he continued.

"I said they should, you didn't care" Bobby said.

"No, I didn't" said Jess "doesn't really effect me any other way. I'm already a freak in this town. Besides, I don't think there's nothing wrong with it, you like what you like".

"I thought you were against it" said Bobby.

Jess smiled "you mean when I was here those first few months? I was just angry, that's all. I don't have anything against gay people. Shit, one of my best friends back home was gay".

"You never told me that" said Bobby, looking over to him.

"There are a lot of things I haven't told you about my life Bobby" said Jess.

"Guess not" he replied.

They stayed out there for the entire first period; mostly they just sat in silence.

It was a very nice day out. The sky was cloudless, the temperature was just right, not to hot and not to cold, and the smell of spring had filled the air. Why does that always seem to happen? Jess thought, when things seem to go to shit, everything else around you seems so much better.

At the sound of the bell, Jess tapped Bobby on the shoulder "ya think your ready to go back in?"

Bobby didn't do anything for a moment before he bobbed his head "yeah, I think I am".

"Ya sure?" remarked Jess "pretty nice day out, don't see why we should coup ourselves in some oppressive school with people who hate us".

"I'm good," said Bobby.

"Suit yourself" said Jess slinging his backpack over his shoulder "but try not to get into a fist fight with Macarthur".

"I'll try," he said.

"At least, not on the first day" said Jess "give it a week and your good to go".

"I'll look forward to it".

* * *

The morning was just awful. For Jess, it was just like that first day when he came here, like literally the first day. When he walked into his class and took his seat, everyone moved away from him. Back to square one, he thought, but then again he hadn't really gotten past the first square. He didn't even bother going to gym cause he knew that would be hell on earth, with Macarthur, the sadist gym teacher, being in the locker room, not happening, so he bailed.

Lunchtime was pretty decent. Besides the odd stares from the lunch lady and the students, which happened on a regular basis, so he was good there. Couldn't say the same for Bobby.

He was in front of Jess by two people and as he took his tray and began to walk to his table, he got an immediate cold shoulder, backpacks being put on chairs, people flashing him dirty looks, and there of course was Macarthur to make it worse.

"sorry Bobby" he said "we have a strict no fags allowed rule" everyone laughed at this, Bobby's face looking defeated.

Jess came up from behind "hey, you can come sit with us if ya want" Bobby just nodded and the two began to walk away.

"Aw ain't that sweet" said Macarthur as they left "the freak and the fag stickin' together".

"Here's coming from the guy who waxes his legs" Jess called back. The look on his face almost made up for the bad morning.

"How did you know that?" asked Bobby as they exited out through the back.

"I've seen him change in the lockers" said Jess "and trust me, he waxes".

Lois and James were already there. at the sight of Bobby, she gave a large grin.

"Bobby! What are you doing here?" she said.

"Jus'…change of scenery" he said, taking a seat on one of the rocks.

"I swear, it feels like I haven't talked ta ya in forever!" she continued "tell me, how are things?"

"Not good Lois" said Jess.

"Oh ya, right" she said, her enthusiasm diminishing "is it bad?"

"As the British would say, horrid" said Jess, taking up the other half of the rock, then going on to explain how their day had went.

"I'm so sorry" said Lois when he finished.

"don't be" said Jess, taking a chunk out of his sandwich.

"it jus' amazes me how people react ta this stuff" said James "two people showin' how much they love each other and everythin' they are associated with seems infected or somethin".

"Well, we did kinda make our own coffins" said Jess "we did say we were okay with it".

"I know we did" said Bobby "I jus'…I jus' can't believe that all my friends turned their back on me like that. I've known some of them when we were in grade school".

"fuck them" said Jess "once you graduate, you'll never see them again".

"Jess, I don't think Bobby needs ta hear that" said Lois.

"I'm just saying" he replied "besides, if they can't be with you after this, then it just shows how crappy friends they are".

"apparently, they all are" Bobby said glumly.

"I'm sure they'll come around" said James "I mean, they can't stay like this forever, right?"

"thank you James" said Lois "he's right Bobby, their probably jus' shocked is all. give them a few days and I'll sure they'll wisen up".

"whatever" said Bobby.

There was an awkward silence afterwards. Jess obviously could tell that Bobby was really hurting and he wasn't sure how to treat the situation. If all his friends had done that to him, he probably act the same way.

"so Bobby, ya applied ta any place?" asked Lois, breaking the quiet.

"I didn't" said Bobby "I was gonna work on the ranch full time for the first year, earn myself enough money so I can have a nice cushion for when I go ta college".

"which I have told you a hundred times is a stupid decision" said Jess "if ya don't go right after high school, odds are you'll never go".

"its my decision" he said.

"Jess" said Lois "ya don't need ta be so pessimistic about everythin. If Bobby wants ta do it, he'll do it".

"I'm just saying" he replied, finishing off his sandwich in a few more bites, once again the silence entering the group.

"James" said Bobby "Jess told me yer leavin' next week?"

he nodded "yeah, fer my aunts".

"and we're gonna send of the occasion this weekend" said Lois "one last hurrah. Ya know Bobby, yer more then welcome ta join us if ya want".

"no thanks" he said.

"come on, it'll be fun" said Lois "besides, it would be a good opportunity to leave the house".

"I don't need yer sympathy" he said crossly, the mood instantly shifting.

"I wasn't tryin' ta do anythin" said Lois, visibly hurt by this comment.

"she was jus' tryin' ta be nice" said James.

"well I don't need it" he said.

"Bobby, I know your hurt but-" Jess tried to say but was cut off by Bobby.

"so ya wanna try ta make me feel better?" he said "invite me here so I won't be by myself, try ta include me in on yer plans, like some charity case?"

"your not a charity case, your just overreacting" said Jess.

"well I'm sorry Jess that I can't be like you" he said "I can't jus' blow everything off and pretend its all right. Unlike you, I actually had a life".

this ticked Jess off and suddenly all pretenses of being nice were gone "oh, because I'm not some boring, straight laced redneck? Is that it".

"guys come on, this isn't the time" said Lois but they ignored her.

"ya think yer so much better then everyone else here!" Bobby said, voice rising steadily "jus' because you come from some big city ya think ya know everythin' and we're all jus' a bunch of dumb hicks!"

"Obviously by that display in the lunchroom, I was right" he shot back, Bobby rising to his feet.

"shut up" he said in a vicious tone.

"all right you two" James said, getting up from his seat.

"stay out of this!" Bobby spit.

"its okay James" said Jess, he too coming to his feet.

"guys, this is ridiculous!" said Lois.

"tell me Bobby, if you didn't want this to happen, they why did you let them do it?" said Jess "if you were so afraid of losing your so called perfect life, why didn't you just say something instead of acting like some god damn pussy!"

Bobby slugged him across the face, Jess going right to the ground, Lois giving a small gasp of shock and James jumping in to try and restrain Bobby.

"you wanna sat that to my face again!" yelled Bobby "ya wanna say that again!"

Jess shook his head, hand reaching up to the soar spot on his cheek. He could taste blood in his mouth. Shit, Bobby knew how to punch, he thought.

"stop, stop!" said Lois, Bobby slightly calming down "now stop it, both of you. Its bad enough to have everyone else raggin' on you, and what we don't need is you two fightin' and makin' it worse!"

Neither of them said anything. Bobby had calmed down enough that he wasn't thrashing and Jess was picking himself up from the ground.

"yer not gonna do anythin?" asked James.

"no" said Bobby.

Releasing his grip, Bobby stalked away, grabbing his backpack, and heading back into the school.

"you alright man?" asked James.

"I'm good" he said, "my face may feel like shit but I'm good". Sitting back down on the rock, he rubbed his aching cheek, half of his food now lying on the ground.

"I don't want ta try ta make things worse" said Lois "but Jess, ya kinda deserved that".

He nodded "I know. I lost my cool and I said some things that…well, you guys heard".

Lois shook her head "I can't leave it like this, I'm going after Bobby. I'll see you in class Jess, okay?"

"Yeah, right" he replied, Lois packing up her things and following Bobby's path.

"That didn't go so well" said James

"Putting it bluntly" Jess said.

"Ya know she's right".

"Yes dad, I know," said Jess "ya don't need to remind me. No one is perfect. But it just frustrates me that he didn't say anything! If he didn't want Jack and Ennis to go through with it, why didn't he say no!"

"I think he meant it" said James "he jus' didn't know how much it was goin' ta affect him".

He nodded "yeah. I just hope no one tries to pull a Dan White on us".

* * *

Bobby was so angry, hands bawled and stuffed in his jacket, feet stomping on the linoleum floor. He was so pissed off that the first person he heard to make one crack about him or his dad; they would be on the floor with just one blow.

"Bobby!" he heard someone call him. Turning he saw it was Lois chasing after him.

"Bobby, hold up" she said.

Reluctantly, he stopped for her until she caught up with him "jeez, you walk fast" she said.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"No need to get defensive," she said "I jus' wanted ta see if you were alright".

"Peachy" he said "couldn't be better".

"I know your angry" she said "and what Jess said was definitely out of line, but ya can't be actin' like this".

"Why the fuck not?" he said.

"Bobby, let me explain" she said but he interrupted her.

"I already told ya, I don't need yer god damn advice!" said Bobby.

"Bobby".

They both turned their heads at the sound of the new voice. Tammy was standing just a few feet from them, a worried expression on her face.

"Tammy" he said.

"Is this…a bad time?" she said.

"Uh…no, we were jus' finishin' up" not bothering to look at Lois, he walked to Tammy "what's up?"

She looked him right in the eye "I wanted ta talk ta ya in person, cut right to the point".

He already knew "ya wanna know about my dad".

"So…" she paused, Bobby seeing the apprehension on her face "is it true?"

He nodded "yes, its true".

She nodded as well, one hand reaching up to scratch absently behind her ear and the other nestling under her elbow "does that mean…".

Bobby's anger shot up when he heard what she was going to ask, "Am I what? A queer?" She didn't say anything.

"So then what? That whole thing between us, it wasn't real?" he snapped, "that I was jus' some confused teen tryin' to fuck the nearest girl jus' ta prove somethin!"

"No, I didn't…" she began, only to stop, shaking her head "it was stupid thing ta ask. I jus' thought…"

"No, you didn't think!" Bobby said, "Yer jus' like all those other bastards who now think I'm some walkin' degenerate!"

"Well I'm sorry Bobby!" Tammy said "what was I suppose ta think! When I heard it, I thought…I jus' couldn't believe it! You were so-"

"So what? Normal!" he bellowed.

Tammy cast her head "this was a bad idea, I should go".

"No" said Bobby, stepping in front of her "tell me what's on yer mind? If ya wanted ta say it so god damn badly, then say it!"

She kept her head hung "Answer me!" Bobby yelled.

Tammy looked up at him "you want to know?" she said, "here's the truth then Bobby. Your dad and his…that man, are an abomination of man and they are both goin' ta rot in hell. The same as you" then she walked off, tears streaming down her face, Bobby standing there stock still.

"Bobby?" he heard Lois ask, "Are you…?"

"I'm okay," he said in a hoarse voice.

She walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. His eyes looked into hers and she smiled "come on" she said, hand slipping through the crack in his arm and wrapping around his "lets get out of here. I think being here is doin' ya a whole of bad then good".

Leading him, Bobby followed at a slow, even pace "ya sure Jess won't mind?"

"James can take him home" she replied, "Besides, like I said before, it's been to long since we've had a decent conversation".


	11. Chapter 11

Ennis sat in his chair, facing the striped walls of the office, fingers nervously drumming, stomach contorting into various knots, mind focused on what was going on at this very moment.

Jack was going to ask Caleb about…the thing.

God, he couldn't even think about it.

Even with him in the comfort of this separate room, far away from where Jack and Caleb were most likely talking, it still felt so awkward. Its like he was right there, like literally right there, telling someone openly to come share a bed with them.

And then, what if he said no? Shit, that would be unbearable! To have to see his face every day, knowing full well what they had asked him. And then of course if he did agree, then they still had to see him either way…

Fuck! He thought, fuck, fuck, fuck!

This was a bad idea, he knew it! He knew it the moment it came out of Jack's mouth.

He got out of his chair, grabbing his jacket off the back.

He was going to stop this, right now. Find Jack, tell him, talk his way out…

The door opened and Jack came in, ending Ennis's drive and the anxiety spiking. Too late, it was already done. Now he had to wait for the fall out.

"Well?" asked Ennis, doing his best to mask the shaky voice "what did he say?"

Jack smiled "relax cowboy, he said yes".

And just like that, Ennis felt the weight lift off his shoulders. He said yes, good he thought, good, spared them the whole embarrassment.

"Oh" he said, "that's…that's really good".

"I know!" Jack said "god, you have no idea how worried I was, if he said no, we would have been…I probably kill myself from the embarrassment".

"No kiddin" replied Ennis "did he say when?"

"I told him this weekend," said Jack "both the boys will be out most likely, I know Jess had somethin' planned with Lois and James".

"T-this weekend?" said Ennis.

"Is that a problem?" he asked.

"Well, I mean…you coulda given me a little bit of a heads up," said Ennis.

"I thought you didn't care," said Jack.

Ennis didn't answer and he saw the look that spread on Jack's face "I knew it, you aren't comfortable with this".

"I never said that" Ennis said.

"Come on Ennis, I know you too well" said Jack "I didn't fully believe it before hand and now I know for sure".

"Jack" Ennis began but he was cut off.

"Don't Ennis, I know what you'll say and I won't by it" he replied, "Look, I'll head back out and tell Caleb its off".

"Jack, please, listen" said Ennis, putting his hands on Jack's shoulders "I'm okay with it, like I've said before. I was jus' a bit shocked is all. All I asked for was a bit of a fore warnin' is all".

"Yeah, I guess that was kinda stupid of me," said Jack "now yer-"

"Jack" said Ennis "I think we should get back ta work".

Jack smiled "right, work, what we should be doing".

* * *

"Thanks for the ride James" said Jess.

"No big deal" he replied "Lois say when she and Bobby would be back?"

"According to the cryptic note she left for me, they would be out and be back soon" Jess said, "not exactly keen on specifics".

"Talk ta ya later?" said James

"Yeah, sure" he replied, grabbing his backpack from the rear seat and opening the car door.

Hearing James car drive off the gravel road, he walked into the house, Jack at the fridge pulling out a drink.

"Hey" he said, his head poking up over the refrigerator door.

"Hey" said Jess, closing the door.

"Where's Bobby?"

"Spending some quality time with Lois" he replied.

"Lois?" Jack said in a surprised voice.

"Long story," he said, crashing on the sofa and flicking on the TV.

"What happened?" he asked, coming over near Jess.

He sighed. Jess knew that he had to tell them sooner or later; he just was hoping he could have saved it for dinner.

"It was a…bad day," he said simply.

"Shit" Jack said.

"Personally, I don't give a fuck" said Jess "but for Bobby, well, he took it a bit hard".

"I was afraid of that," said Jack "so what happened? Was it that Macarthur kid?"

"I think Bobby should be the one telling you, not me" he replied.

"Jess" Jack said.

"Not to be an ass Jack but I'm really not in the mood," he said, "I just want to watch some TV, so please, just go away before I say something I'll regret".

Jack sighed, "Jess, please, I don't want to sound nosy-".

"Well you are!" snapped Jess "just let it be! I don't want to talk about it right now, so just please, back the fuck off!"

He used that same voice from the first few months he was here and Jack assumed the same stance whenever Jess yelled.

"You can wait for Bobby to tell you" said Jess "but until then, just please, go away" he angrily flicked the remote, the channel snapping to the local news.

The battle was lost; Jack went to the door and headed back out.

* * *

Bobby was silent as Lois drove him back to the school where his car still remained. For the entire day, they had hung out at the abandoned soccer field. He remembered that had gone there one time when he was young, with Jack and Ennis. They played a game of soccer, father and son versus Ennis. Ennis would put up a bit of a fight before Jack would sneak pass him, pass the ball to Bobby, kicking it through the net less goal and being declared world champion. It had seemed like a lifetime ago, back when things were so simple.

They mostly were silent, Bobby lying down and daydreaming while Lois sat next to him, sketching at whatever it was that caught her fancy. In his haze, he thought about a lot of things, mostly concerning right now. A tightening fear had entered into his stomach, one of dread. He couldn't help but think things were going to go badly. After what he saw at the school, the fear had grown and now he was afraid that, sometime during the night, something might happen. People would come, vandalize the place, and try to run them out, torches and pitchforks in hand.

When he had this though, he chuckled. This was something Ennis would have done. He assumed that both of them would be doing a lot of this type of thinking in the days to come.

"That was nice," said Lois, breaking the silence.

"I barely said anythin" he replied.

"So? Doesn't make it a bad thing" she replied "ya know what they say, silence speaks volumes".

He laughed, "Guess I never heard that".

She pulled into the schools parking lot, where Bobby's car remained the only one on the lot. Much to his surprise, he spotted no visible sings of damage or vandalism. A saving grace. But he suspected that would soon change in the days to come.

"Thanks for the ride" said Bobby.

"Don't mention it," she said, "it's been to long anyway".

He nodded. Reaching for the remote, she placed her hand on his shoulder "about what happened at lunch" she said "I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries".

"You weren't" he said, "You were jus' tryin' ta help. I was jus' to angry ta see it".

"It was understandable," she said.

Bobby hesitated for a moment, hand still clenched on the door handle "and by the way, I'd like ta come to the movies with ya".

Lois smiled "really? Yer not jus' sayin' that?"

"No, I mean it" he said "besides, I think I might need it".

"Great" she said "I'll call James and tell him tonight".

"Cool" he said "then I'll see ya tomorrow".

"Oh wait!" Lois exclaimed "there's somethin' I wanna give ya before I forget". Digging in the back seat, she grabbed her sketchbook, flipping through a few of the pages before she found it. Tearing the page from the book, she handed it to him. He took it, looking at the drawing.

"I did it while we were out on the field" she said.

The picture was very detailed, the clothes showing stitches of fabric, the grass wrapping around his body, hands behind his head, lying on the ground, gazing off into some unknown location, his eyes warm and serene, and a small smile on his face.

"I realized that I'd never done a picture of you" she said, "I have dozens of Jess and James, a few of Ennis and Jack, but somehow I forgot about you. Figured that was kinda odd, and with the situation, it jus' seemed right".

"Wow" he said, taking a moment to search for the words "this is really good Lois…thank you".

"It was my pleasure" she said, "You were a good model".

There was a silence between them. In this moment, Bobby truly noticed the feel of her hand on his shoulder, how warm it felt, small vibrations coming off it.

"So see ya tomorrow?" she said, breaking the quiet and throwing him back into reality.

"Yeah, of course" he said, opening the door " again thanks for the picture".

He was back home in what seemed like a second. Walking into the house, he saw an already open box of pizza on the kitchen table, Jess on the couch, watching TV, half eaten slice in his hand.

"Hey" said Jess "your back late".

"Sorry, just lost track of time" said Bobby "pizza tonight?"

"Didn't feel like making anything" he replied "so I took the easy route. Well, almost easy. I swear it still annoys me that they don't deliver in this town".

"Yeah" said Bobby.

"What you got there?" asked Jess.

"Oh, uh, picture Lois did" he said holding up the paper.

"Aw, how sweet" said Jess "I can't tell ya how many times she's drawn pictures of me. There's probably a whole wall devoted to me. But as it seems now that she's found herself a new muse".

"Nothin' happened," said Bobby, taking a seat on the empty couch space "we jus'…hung out".

"Right" said Jess.

"Believe what ya want," said Bobby "it was nice. I needed it anyway. Hey, about what happened today-".

"Forget it" said Jess "I know I was out of line, you were pissed, things escalated, and shit happened. Besides, we have enough trouble without fighting amongst ourselves".

"So all is forgiven?" said Bobby.

"Course, what else are brothers for" said Jess "oh and heads up, Jack wants to talk to you about what happened at school".

"What?" said Bobby "you told him?"

"Not really" he replied, "just that things at school didn't go over so well, that's all. But he wants to know specifically what happened. Ya gonna tell him?"

He rested his head on the couch, hand rubbing his forehead "I dunno. I jus' want this day ta be over".

They heard the door opened.

"Better make that decision quick" said Jess.

Jack and Ennis walked into the room. Immediately Jess got up off the couch and headed to the kitchen, grabbing another slice of pizza and heading up the stairs.

"Bobby" said Jack "we have ta talk".

He got up the couch "I don't wanna talk about it".

"Come on Bobby, don't be like that" said Ennis "we jus' want ta help".

Bobby sighed, "I know. But right now, the one thing I need is ta be left alone".

"That's not gonna solve anythin" said Jack "ya can talk ta me Bobby, you know that".

"Well dad, right now I jus' don't want ta talk ta ya," he said, and then he headed up the stairs without looking back.

Opening his bedroom door, he saw Jess on his bed already "I guess ya didn't say anything huh?" he said.

"Should I have?" he asked, sitting down next to him.

"That is what they preach about in school" said Jess "but sometimes telling others doesn't always help".

Bobby reclined back onto the bed, arms behind his head, staring at the white ceiling. He felt the bed shift slightly, Jess laying next to him.

"Hey Bobby" said Jess.

"Ya?" he asked.

"Just wanted to clear something up from earlier today," he said "the whole fight".

"What about it?"

Jess paused "did you really wanted Jack and Ennis to come out?"

"Course I did" he said without any pause "I jus'…didn't think it would be so difficult".

"That's what you get for being apart of a minority," said Jess.

Jess turned over to face him "ya wanna know the truth about something?"

"What?"

"I know that it seems like I put up this front" said Jess "this whole I don't give a fuck, you all don't matter, I'm better then you. Now don't get me wrong, I really don't give a fuck what people think about me. And I'm not afraid to call someone out on their bullshit. But some days, dealing with it all, having people talk about you, stare at you funny, knowing that most of these people as a freak, its hard".

"I didn't know that," said Bobby.

"Everyone can't be a stone wall all the time" said Jess "but that's the thing about people, you can't show weakness in front of them, otherwise they know their getting to you. The only way to deal with smack is talk smack back".

When he finished, Jess got back up and off the bed "okay, I think someone has some math homework he needs to finish".

Bobby laughed, "I swear Jess, you know my homework better then I do".

"Yet another useless talent" he said.


	12. Chapter 12

Jess and Bobby both kept up this wall of silence with Jack and Ennis, never telling what was going on in school, what had happened that day, who said what or did what, it was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that when the time came, they would tell them.

Jess knew that they had some idea of what was going on at school and he could tell it killed them on the inside that they were getting stonewalled like this. However, Jess also knew that Jack and Ennis were keeping stuff from them with the ranch business.

On Tuesday he had overheard from the office that one of the their business deals had gone south and that, according to them, they had to cut it off due to 'business indifferences', or in other words, you're a fag and I'll have no association with you. Also, Jess had noticed that a few of the ranch hands were missing in action from their jobs. It was only like two or three people, in fact, Jess didn't even know their names, just as ranch hands 3, 18, and 22.

However he figured things could be a lot worse. It wasn't like in the past few days, they had cut all their losses, the ranch had gone up in flames, and people were threatening to form a lynch mob on them. Jess figured, if all these people were still willing to stick around even after Jack and Ennis came out, it just shows how understanding people are becoming. Then again, maybe he was jinxing everyone for thinking this, for all he knew, the following week all hell would break loose and he would have a tire iron smashing into his face.

As for school, things weren't so lucky. In the following days, the students had gotten even more vicious. When Jess came to his locker on Wednesday morning, he saw the words **faggot** in big bold red letters painted on his metal door, as well as Bobby's.

"I think it brings some much needed color to the locker" said Jess.

That same day, it had become pretty obvious the teachers had come to know as well. Now they didn't like Jess to begin with, he wasn't naïve, but now that dislike seemed to have slowly itched over from mutual disagreement to slight hate. But by far the worse was his science teacher, Mrs. Jolene.

Mrs. Jolene was one of those ultra conservative, bible thumping old hags who will bring down the wrath of God on all those who are unworthy, and that day when he walked into class, he saw her flash him the evil eye and he knew he was in for it.

Now whenever he got papers back, they were scrawled with big fat E's. Whenever she had a biting comment, she directed it right at him, resulting in a class full of snickering. And of course, yelling at him every time someone spoke out of turn, implying it was his fault. But he didn't let it beat him down. It was going to take a lot more then some divorced Jesus freak to break him down.

It was Thursday and Jess had taken it upon himself to doze of in Jolene's class, gazing out the window, thinking whatever thoughts came into his mind. From the very beginning of the year, she had been re-teaching him stuff that he had already learned last year, so most of the time he barely paid attention in her class.

"Mr. Beers" sad Mrs. Jolene.

He looked at her "what?"

"Maybe instead of lookin' out the window all hour, you can pay attention to the lecture" she said, "cause only Jesus knows the last thing ya need is more sin in yer life".

Everyone in class chuckled "whatever" said Jess.

"Now, as I was sayin' before I was interrupted" she said, gazing intently at him "the second phase of mitosis is-"

Rhythmically tapping his pencil, a note landed on his desk. He didn't need to look to know who had given him this. It was Austin and his friends, who were even more homophobic then Macarthur, that or very damn close. They were chuckling to themselves, eye full of giddy malice as they waited for him to open it.

Even before Ranchgate happened (as Jess refers to), those four had constantly been digging at him. Mostly though it was just a bunch of back talk and finger pointing, unlike Macarthur who really got physical with his shit, so after the first couple of months, Jess had learned to just tune them out. But now with this newfound ammunition, they, like most every one else, had intensified in their attacks. The hush hush chatter had turned into out right banter, the once none physical tactics had turned into deliberate pushing and spitting, and of course, this.

Setting his pencil down, he unfolded the sheet of paper, creasing out the folds and looking at the crudely drawn picture, which was a bad drawing of his face with a big, fat, hairy dick in his mouth.

Immediately he heard the intense laughter, the four of them looking like they may die of laughter.

The drawing didn't really bother him; in fact, he found it kind of lame. He thought it was clichéd, boring, and worse of all, badly drawn. But still, the whole thing just really got Jess very irritated. In fact, this whole week had gotten him pretty fucking irritated.

At that point, all point of caring seemed to have gone out the window, all pretenses of playing it cool and not letting it get to him were off. These teens, these teachers, these ranch hands, these business people, with their words, their hatred, their sense of pride, he was all done with it.

They want a fight? He thought, I'll give them a fight.

He got up from his chair, the sound making a loud scratch on the wood floor. Grabbing the paper, he walked right up to Austin's desk, he still laughing like a maniac.

"really?" said Jess "this is the best you can do?"

"Mr. Beers, what are you doing!" snapped Mrs. Jolene.

"some crappy ass drawing" he continued, not even noticing she had spoken to him "if your gonna do some gay drawing, try and be a little bit more creative".

"like I give a crap what some faggot thinks" said Austin, his three pals laughing hysterically.

"Ya know what, I think he's gonna keep that picture so he can whack of ta it every night" said one of them.

"Yeah, while Twist joins in as well" said another of them, the two of them high fiving each other.

"Yeah, I betcha you and Twist blow each other off every single night" said Austin, the laughter intensifying.

"Maybe" said Jess "but he ain't as good as your dad".

Suddenly, the laughter ceased, the four of their faces turning from amusement to shock.

"Mr. Beers, watch yer language and take your seat!" said Mrs. Jolene.

"Oh yeah, every night while yer mom is sleeping, I sneak in and give him a real ride" said Jess "god only knows he needs a lot of pounding so he can forget about the great big bastard mistake he has to live with every day".

"What the hell did ya call me?" he said.

"I think you heard me you dumb fucking hick" said Jess, a gasp echoing through out the class.

"You really think your better then me?" said Jess "just because I don't dress like some redneck farmer, have a full set of teeth, and don't try to fuck my cousin".

"Why you" he said, getting up from his seat, face turning red.

"Mr. Beers! For the last time, take your seat!" yelled Mrs. Jolene.

"Oh shut the fuck up you stupid cunt," said Jess, the entire class gasping, a few of the girls making high pitch sounds of disgust.

Mrs. Jolene had a hand over her mouth "what did you call me?" she said in a gasped voice.

"I called you a dumb cunt, you crazy Jesus freak" said Jess "you're an even bigger joke then these four douche bags, hiding behind some shitty book that was written by a bunch of crazy men two thousand years ago, spouting your words of hate and denouncing everyone who doesn't follow the Christian way. You wanna know what I have to say to the Christian way?" and then he stuck up his middle finger.

Mrs. Jolene's face went white, her hand clenched in a fist "y-y-ou, you" she tried to say.

"Why don't ya do us all a favor and go fuck yourself" he said "or better yet, get someone else to, maybe then you wouldn't be such an uptight bitch who's too pathetic to even drop her husbands name even after he's been screwing some other woman for thirty years".

She backed herself against the blackboard, her body shacking with fury.

"And you four" he said, turning back to them "do me and everyone else a favor, get some creat-fucking-tivity and come up with something better then this" he held up the picture.

"In fact, you can have this back" and then he shoved the paper forward, stuffing it right into Austin's mouth.

As his arms flailed, Jess punched him right in the stomach, stuffed the rest of the paper into his open mouth. And before the other three had time to retaliate, he pushed Austin away from him and kicked him right in the chest, sending him careening into the others and taking them to the floor.

Scream issued from the entire class, girls getting up from their seats and backing up to the walls.

Grabbing his backpack, Jess swished his tongue back in his throat, accumulating a thick wade of mucus and spit and spat right on Austin's face.

"Pussy!" he yelled, turning around and stalking right out of the class.

As he headed down the hall, he threw his head back and laughed "man, that felt good".

A few minutes later, Jess was called down to the principal's office, where he was expelled right on the spot.

* * *

Waiting on the rocks, he saw Lois, James, and Bobby rush up to him.

"What, no lunch for me?" asked Jess, since neither of them were carrying any.

"What the fuck happened!" said Lois "I get out of class and the first thing I hear was that you got expelled for beating up Austin Green and calling Mrs. Jolene a cunt!"

"True, all true" said Jess.

"What on earth were ya thinkin' I!" she said.

"Honestly, I wasn't" he said.

"You weren't?" she said "of course you weren't! Otherwise you wouldn't have done somethin' so stupid!"

"Well there ain't nothing left to do," he said, "it's already happened".

"If its any consolation" said James "that was pretty cool what ya do".

"James!"

"Come on Lois, ya have ta give it ta him" Bobby said.

"Bobby!"

"Yeah, god only knows I wouldn't have the balls ta call my teacher that" said James.

"Or pick a fight with four kids all at once and win" said Bobby.

"I can't believe you too are okay with this!" said Lois.

"I ain't sayin' it was the smart thing ta do" James said "but, it is pretty funny when ya think about it".

"Yeah" said Bobby "and it was about time someone called out that old windbag and gave Austin a taste of his own medicine".

"Well thank you guys, I feel so much better," said Jess "how come you can't be more supportive Lois?"

Lois shook her head in frustration "ahh, boys!"

* * *

Ennis was pissed as hell. Angrily tapping his foot as he sat in the kitchen, his eyes staring intently at the door. He had just checked the answering machine after he had completed his work.

As he reached into the fridge for a beer, the message played "Mr. Del Mar, this is Principal Haley. I'm callin' to regards to yer son". Ennis stopped, hand wrapped around the cold bottle.

"Early this mornin', yer son started a fight in one of his classes and verbally insulted his teacher, of which I cannot come to repeat myself to say. I regret to inform you that we had no choice but ta expel him from Alderson high".

The beer bottle slipped from his hands, shattering on the floor, Ennis standing their stock still, hardly believing what he heard.

"If it would be possible, please contact me as soon as you can" and then the message ended.

Once the initial shock wore off, anger suddenly began to fill inside him, that anger remaining at a constant peak even after a good half hour had passed.

He heard the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway.

A few seconds later and Jess and Bobby walked in the door.

At the sight of him, both the boys froze. Neither of them said anything for what appeared to be the longest time, the only sound coming from the constant tapping foot of Ennis.

"Bobby, go upstairs," said Ennis in even voice, though hints of anger could be detected.

Backing away, Bobby quickly headed up the stairs, leaving the two of them alone.

Ennis got up "somethin' ya wanna tell me?"

Jess huffed "okay, look, I can explain-"

"You got expelled from school, what else is there to explain!" yelled Ennis.

"Yeah, I guess that pretty much sums it up" he replied "but there were other stuff involved".

"I don't care!" Ennis hollered "you don't go beatin' up on other kids jus' ta prove a point! You should have come to me or Jack!"

"Well, it isn't like its such a big lose"

"Not such a big lose!" he said.

"Ennis, all the stuff they've been teaching me I already learned last year!" said Jess "I can't help it that this backwoods country is a behind on its teaching".

"it doesn't matter!" Ennis yelled "how the hell are ya gonna finish school?"

"I'll go to another one" said Jess.

"where?" said Ennis "the only other high school is almost thirty minutes away in Kellyville!"

"then I'll go there" said Jess.

"are ya fuckin' kiddin' me!" said Ennis "do you really think they'll allow someone in who just recently got expelled!"

"it's happened before" said Jess.

"I don't give a damn!" said Ennis "you are grounded as of right now, indefinitely!"

Jess mouth dropped "that's not fair!"

"you should have thought of that before you-"

"before I what, huh? Stood up for myself!" said Jess "you wanna know the truth why I fought those bastards and called out that looney tunes teacher? I did it because of you! Ya want me to start talking to you? Sharing my feelings? Where here it is!"

the door opened, Jack coming in with a worried expression "what the hell is going on in here?"

"oh good, then you both can hear this" said Jess "the truth is ever since you guys told everyone, me and Bobby have been getting shit on at school. everyone talking about you guys, calling you names, harassing us in the halls, and ya know what? For awhile I dealt with it! after all, I'm already a freak as it is, why not make me the freak son of a gay dad!"

Jess caught his breath and continued on "and its not even because of you guys, this has been going on all year! Every one calling me a delinquent, devil worshiper, freak of nature, and I am sick of taking everyone's shit!"

He looked directly at Ennis "so I'm not sorry for what I did. If I could, I'd do it again! so come on _dad_, what about now huh? What do you think now!"

Ennis face had darkened, eyes downcast "I was afraid of this" he said.

"Ennis, what's going on?" asked Jack.

"jus' give us a moment Jack, okay?" he asked. he didn't have to say twice, Jack simply nodded and went back outside, once again leaving them alone.

"I wasn't naïve when we did this" said Ennis "I knew that there would be consequences, both for you guys and me and Jack, I know. But ya should have come ta me".

"well you know what dad, not all things can be resolved by just talking about it" said Jess "you can say whatever ya want, but that won't change people's opinion. They're either for or against, and no amount of talking is going to fix that! besides, why the hell are you even saying this to me?"

"whaddya mean?" he asked.

"oh come on Ennis, you know what I'm saying" said Jess "for the entire time you and Jack have been together, you have tried your best to keep yourselves secret. Your spouting all this bullshit about not caring what others think and dealing with it when you have been afraid your whole life about what people may think!"

he was right of course, Ennis knew it, and he couldn't deny it, so he simply said "I know".

"in fact, did you even want to do this in the first place?" asked Jess "or was it Jack who convinced you otherwise? You know what, maybe you never wanted to come out in the first place! I bet if it were up to you and you had absolute control over Jack, you would have gone your whole life keeping yourself secret".

"I did" said Ennis "at first".

"then why now Ennis! Why the fuck now!" Jess yelled.

"because…people change" said Ennis.

Jess rolled is eyes "how original".

"its true" said Ennis "yes, I didn't want ta in the beginnin', that's true. And even now do I still have my fears? Yes! I go ta bed every night afraid that my house will be burned down by some mob, or wake up one morning to hear that someone had hurt you or Bobby! I constantly think about everyone I come into contact with, thinking that they're talking about me, that every conversation is about me! every concerned stare is about me! I feel as though everyone is out ta get me!"

"then why the fuck did you do!" Jess practically screamed.

"Because I wanted to!" yelled Ennis.

"Bullshit!" Jess shot back.

"It's the truth!" said Ennis "I may still have all those fears but I did it anyway, ya know why?"

"Oh this should be good" Jess said.

"Cause in the end, I jus' wanted to" said Ennis "I was done with the hidin' and the sneakin' around and coverin' my tracks, I was done with it! I for wanted ta stop livin' like some wanted criminal. And ya know what? Ever since I did, I've never felt better. For once, this weight I've been carryin' around all these years has finally gone away and I'm happy! Do I still have those fears? Yes. But ya know what, I jus' didn't give a fuck".

It was as if time stood still. The house so quiet, the air so light, even the colors seemed to be stuck in neutral. And for Ennis, he had never felt so free before in his entire life.

"Wow" said Jess "I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you say. In fact, it was the most honest you've ever been".

He sighed. Yeah, no kidding, he thought.

Jess kicked the ground with one of his soles "look, about blowing up like that, I'm sorry".

"Don't be" said Ennis, coming over and wrapping his arms around him.

After a bit, Jess eventually returned the favor.

"I love ya dad," said Jess.

"I love ya too son" said Ennis, his heart filling up with warmth.

"I'm still grounded, aren't I?" said Jess.

"Absolutely" replied Ennis.

"Fuck" Jess said.


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors note: this chapter is dedicated to Allison Iraheta, who on Wednesday May 6, 2009 was so cruelly eliminated over the tool bag Danny Gokey on American Idol. Allison, everyone knows you were shafted and along with Adam was the most talented contestant of the season. While we couldn't save you, your memory will always be in our minds and hopefully in a years time you will be selling millions of record and showing those narrow minded judges just how wrong they were.**

**Rock on Allison, rock on.**

* * *

Now with him officially out of school, Jess spent the remainder of the week at the house, though it didn't go without any repercussions. Jack and Ennis piled on the work, making him do some of the most complicated jobs on the ranch, which included shearing the sheep, cleaning the cows area, and the worst one of all, cleaning out the horses 'private areas', which caused Jess to vomit for the first time since he was ten.

Meanwhile, Ennis was trying to get Jess registered at Kellyville High School, though that was proving to be a struggle. He was right, getting someone in who just got expelled was proving a lot more difficult then imagined. In New York, this wouldn't have been such a problem, but apparently, the south still seemed to care for standards.

Back at the school, word of Jess's throw down with Austin had reached everyone's ears and because of it, many of the attacks and harassment had gone down significantly. Bobby figures that now that most of them are too frightened that he may go berserk as well and would rather not get their faces smashed in.

Jess was comforted by this knowledge. Least now they have it ingrained in their thick hillbilly skulls not to fuck with us.

Friday came and Jess was just about finished with his work.

"Just one more" he panted, face sweaty and red "one more, and its over, just one more".

Bracing himself, he hoisted the bale of hay.

"Sweet Jesus!" he gasped, so exhausted that it felt like he was lifting four hundred pounds.

"Alright, just one step at a time. One painful step at a time".

When he loaded the last of it, he collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, everything in his body sore and tired.

"I swear, I must have lost ten pounds this week" he gasped.

A car honked. Grudgingly getting himself off, he half walked, half limped his way to the driveway, where he spotted Lois's car, with her and James in it.

"Hey!" she yelled sticking her head out of the drivers side "how was your day of punishment?"

"Like living hell, as it has been this week," he replied, "though at least today I didn't have to clean the gunk out of the horses privates".

"I had ta do that once" said James "it ain't so bad".

"This coming from a guy who spends half his time in an oily garage?" said Jess.

"Enough you two" Lois chimed in "please tell me ya talked ta Jack and Ennis about going out this weekend? After all, it jus' wouldn't be right if one of the three musketeers weren't there".

"Wow Lois, how original" Jess said "I will tonight, though I'm pretty sure I already know the answer. Plus I thought we already agreed that I can just sneak out".

"Yer not sneakin' out" said Lois "the last thing ya need is ta be in even more trouble".

"I've done it before" he replied.

"Yeah, and ya've been lucky" she said "but luck always runs out".

"Doesn't mean it will this time" said Jess.

"Shut up, don't be smart" she said, "I'm jus' sayin' it would be the right thing ta do".

"Alright, alright, I will," said Jess.

"Promise?"

"Pinky swear promise?" said Lois, sticking out her pinky.

"Yeah, pinky swear," said Jess, wrapping his in hers.

"I'll call ya later" she said "and ya better have asked them!"

"Yes yes" said Jess "see ya later James".

"See ya man" James said.

Pulling out of the driveway, Jess began to make his way to the house, once again hobbling his way through the door. Bobby was already at the kitchen table, his homework laid out in front of him.

"Hey, how was work?" he asked.

"What does it look like" Jess growled, opening the refrigerator door and pulling out a Dr. Pepper "I have aches in places I didn't even knew I had".

"I guess then yer too exhausted ta help me through this" Bobby said.

Jess leaned over his shoulder, seeing the worksheet in front of him "come on Bobby, you can do this. We've gone over this stuff a million times. See, ya already got the first two right".

"I did?" he said, looking back at the paper.

"Uh huh" Jess replied "believe me, you're a lot smarter then you give yourself credit for. Just remember the steps and you'll be fine. Besides, it was about time we took of the training wheels".

Limping to the couch, he collapsed on the furniture; arm grabbing the remote and flicking on the channel. Once again he had to settle for ABC, the only good network they had and once again, it was a Charlie's Angels marathon.

"I swear, we need to get cable," said Jess.

"I think ya spend to much time on the TV," said Bobby.

"Well I'm sorry, it ain't like there's much else to do in this town," he said, " Don't get me wrong, Charlie's Angel's is a nice show, but I would rather watch some All in the Family or Maude then this every day".

"Then take it up with Jack and Ennis" Bobby said, scribbling something on his paper.

"Yeah, like they really want to hear any of my suggestions," said Jess.

"Then I'll ask," said Bobby.

"You're an angel," Jess drawled.

As if on cue, the two men walked into the house.

"Hey Bobby" said Jack "how was school?"

"N'all right" Bobby said.

"No trouble, right?"

"None that I could handle" he said.

"Good" said Ennis "least someone here can control themselves".

"Oh my god, that was one time!" Jess yelled.

"And that one time got ya expelled" he replied.

"Speakin' of which, how's the enrolment goin' fer Kellyville?" asked Jack.

Ennis sighed, taking a seat on the armchair, a beer in his hand "still not getting' easier".

"Whatever, ain't like I'm missing much" Jess said.

"Ya better hope we get ya in soon," said Ennis in a slightly threatening tone and immediately the first image to flash in Jess's mind was of horses.

"Yeah, I'll just take that last comment back" Jess added.

Although now he figured wasn't the best time, Jess decided that he should just get it over with and ask. Thought he probably knew the answer was going to be a rounding no, it would at least settle Lois's persistence.

"So Ennis" Jess began "as ya know, James is going to be leaving on Monday".

"I know" Ennis replied.

"And for a while, we had planned on going to the movies" Jess continued, "you know, for one last hurrah and stuff. I know I probably blew it by getting expelled but I was hoping I could still go. And if ya allowed me, I promise I'd make it up".

Ennis looked at him, finger playing with the rim of the beer bottle. His eyes briefly flashed over to where Jack was standing, as if seeking his advice.

"Under the circumstances, we shouldn't" Jack said "but, I think we can bend the rules just this once".

Ennis sighed, "Yeah, I'm okay with that".

Jess was actually shocked. In fact, he was almost at a loss for words "oh" he said, "uh, wow, thanks. I really appreciate that".

"But jus' this once" Ennis warned "believe me, we shouldn't be doin' this".

"I know, I know," said Jess, not needing to go into any details.

* * *

"I swear, I am honestly surprised," Jess said. He and Bobby were up in his room, where Jess was correcting his homework that he just completed.

"Yeah, usually their strict on issues like this," said Bobby.

"I betcha is because they wanna make it up to me" said Jess "you know, for all the shit I went through. In fact, I bet deep down inside their glad I knocked that douche bag out and their secretly rewarding me".

"That's one theory" he replied.

"Speaking of which, I think someone is going to ace his math exam on Monday" Jess said, putting the last mark on the homework "all correct".

"Really?!" Bobby exclaimed, grabbing the paper from him and looking it over "yer shitin' me!"

"nope, no bull shit" said Jess "see, what did I tell ya? your smarter then you give yourself credit for".

"I can't believe this!" he continued "god damn Jess, thank you!" and then he reached over and wrapped him in a huge hug.

"whoa, what's with the sudden display of affection?" Jess said.

"without ya, I'd never been able ta do this" he said.

"well…yeah, your right, I'm awesome" said Jess "but really, all ya needed was just a little push in the right direction".

Bobby let go of him "well thank you. God, I think I might finally be able to get a passing grade on a test!"

"which reminds me, I better call Lois". Getting off the bed, he headed out in the hall, beginning to climb down the stairs when he stopped halfway down, noticing the talk going on in the living room.

"ya don't think they suspect somethin's up, do ya?" he heard Ennis.

"Ennis, quit yer worryin'" came Jack's voice "I'm sure that kid is too head over heels to suspect anythin'. Besides, so what if they think somethin's up? Ain't like it's a big deal. They don't even know any of the specifics".

"but what if they come home early?" Ennis said.

"Jess said that they be out for most of the night" Jack replied "most likely they were gonna stay over at Lois's house".

"still though".

"Ennis, jus' stop worryin" said Jack "its gonna be fine".

"and he is comin' over tomorrow?"

"yep, I already confirmed it with him before he left" said Jack.

"Jack".

"what?"

"I'm nervous".

"don't be Ennis" said Jack "its not like this is a required, force thing. its just a couple adults coming together in mutual understandin".

"oh, so that's how yer puttin' it" Ennis said in a kidding voice.

"well if ya want me to be blunt" Jack said "just a couple adult men getting' together ta have sex".

Jess mouth dropped open. he guessed he discovered why they were so willing to let him out of the house this weekend.

* * *

The next morning, Jess woke with a constant ache that seemed to be all over his body. It acted as a reminder that today would begin another day of hard labor.

Remain positive, Jess thought, just a few hours and it will be over, then I can get out of the house and leave Jack and Ennis to their little sexcapade with the mysterious stranger.

He didn't care about what Ennis and Jack did, hell, they could have an orgy for all he cared, it was their sex life, they could do whatever the hell they pleased. Though he hoped if there was going to be any group sex, it would be taking place in their bedroom and not in some other part of the house. It still gave Jess the willies whenever he had to sit on that couch, not knowing what might be lurking in the fibers.

Besides, if he said anything, it just be awkward and weird and lead to another very uncomfortable sex talk. He would take cleaning out the horse's privates over that any day.

Coming into the kitchen, everyone was already up. Greeting them, he got his morning coffee, gulped it down, and then followed them out onto the ranch.

"Alright Jess" Ennis said "today we're expectin' the new pigs ta be brought in". By brought in, he meant keep for a few months and then slaughter. But hey, its what paid the rent.

"Okay" he said.

"When the guy comes, give him his money, and then herd them into the pen" said Ennis.

"Herd?" Jess said "seriously?"

"Yes" Ennis said "its easy, no harder then a dog".

Giving him a slip of money, Ennis had Jess load the pig slop as he waited. By mid morning, a large truck pulled up into yard, he figuring that was the guy.

Walking up to the driver's side, where a small Mexican man was waiting, he paid him with the money, he nodding once he counted it all up.

"Okay, you good" he said.

Heading to back, the guy unlocked the large metal doors and the sound of dozens of squealing pigs entered his ears. They came swarming down the small ramp, Jess practically bowled over by them, hitting the ground and the smell of dirty swine filling his nostrils. The guy didn't even stick around; he just got back into the truck and drove off.

"Thanks a lot senior!" he yelled.

Getting himself up and out of the slew of pink bodies, he found himself a nice long tree branch. Simply going on what he had seen the others do, he began to tap the ground, whistling softly.

"Alright, come on, lets go," he said.

After a bit of prodding, he was able to get the group moving. Things were going smoothly until one of the pigs turned around and began to gnaw on the stick.

"Hey! Hands off!" Jess snapped, trying to pull the stick away, but the pig had it firmly in its jaws "little bastard, let go!"

Just then another pig came over, starting to but into his legs "get back in line!" Jess yelled.

Looking over he saw more of pigs start to wander off "hey!" he whistled, forgetting the stick and hurtling over the swine, snapping his fingers frantically.

"Come on, you stupid animals!" Jess said "get going!" and one of them tackled into him, sending him right to the ground, landing flat on his face.

Shaking his head, he saw that it the pig had his stick in its mouth, the one from before. He growled in frustration, hoisting himself back up.

"That's it, no more nice guy!" he yelled and he began to quickly move from place to place, gathering up any strays, putting them back in the group, whistling, snapping, trying to get them to follow him.

"The next one who gets out of line is going to be sent out to slaughter!"

Finally getting them to the pen entranced, her herded them in. he thought he had them all but there was still one left, the problem pig.

"Alright you little shit," he said, rolling up his shirtsleeves "no more pleasantries".

Marching right up to the animal, he tried the usual tactics but it ignored him. Huffing, he tried getting around it, gently prodding it with his foot "come on piggy piggy" god, I've never felt more like a redneck.

It still wouldn't budge. It just stood there, a blank look on its face, mindlessly chewing away at the stick.

"Come on, move!" he tried pushing it, but it still wouldn't go "move!" and he pushed harder with his foot but it just kept on standing there.

"Move dammit!" and he gave it a sharp kick. The pig squealed, kicking its legs up, nailing Jess right in the kneecap.

Shouting in pain, he dropped to the ground, clutching his throbbing leg, watching as the pig began to streak across the lawn and into the open gate of the pen.

"Little fuck head," he hissed, getting back up, hissing in pain as his knee protested, "I swear, I hope you get swine flu!"

Grumbling to himself, he went back into the horse stalls, where he could see a couple of the ranch hands working, but by the looks of their faces it would seem like they had just seen that spectacle out on the yard.

"That's right, laugh it up at the stupid city boy," he said.

Noon approached rapidly and the last of the workers had left for their lunch break. Jess was still in the stalls cleaning. Last thing he wanted too see was the smirks on all their faces. Two he could handle but the whole team, even he can't face that humiliation.

As he swept up the stray pieces of hay, he saw that one of them had left behind their radio. Looking around to make sure everyone was gone, he walked over to it and switched it on, the country station blaring away.

He rolled his eyes "no more of that crap" the whole time he had to listen to this station while they worked. Jess hated country music, never liked it, never will.

Turning one of the dials, he began to scan through the stations "come on, there has to be something good on".

From the very first day, Jess had been told the only stations they had were country and religious stuff. But he refused to believe it, there just had to be at least one decent station, just one! Anything! He had gone so long without listening to some Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, all the good bands he had been deprived off for almost a year!

"Come on, come on" he whispered half to himself.

As if by a stroke of luck, he turned the dial and stopped when he heard it. Just starting up, on station 105 (better remember that), was the beginning intro of Slow Ride.

A smile crossed his face as he heard the familiar tune fill the air "all right!" turning the volume up full blast, he let the music fill the barn, invigorating him right to the bone. It was as if someone had just turned back something on inside him, something that for so long had been silent and inactive.

The days of CBGB and all night rock parties filled his head, countless guitar riffs and drum solos echoing in his ear, it all was coming back to him, like an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

Bobbing his head, the song began to pick up, just about entering into the opening verse, his adrenaline starting to kick in. all thoughts about doing work forgotten, it had been too long that he has just rocked out. Grabbing a nearby, abandoned wrench, brought it to his lips and took a deep breath.

"Slow ride" he sang "take it easy".

He began to move his whole body; going with the flow of the song "slow ride" he continued "take it easy".

Taking another breath, he raised up an octave "slow ride…take it easy".

"Slow ride…take it easy".

Spinning slightly on his legs, he arched his neck back "I'm in the mood, yeah" he sang "the rhythm is right! Move to the music, we can roll all night!"

He pumped his arm in the air "ohhhh, slow ride!" he belted "ohhhh-oooohhh-slow ride!"

In full on rock mode, he began to bop across the floor "slow ride!" he sang "take it easy! Slow ride! Take it easy!"

He grabbed hold of the horse's fence, lifting himself up on one foot, his arm holding him on "slow down! Go down!" he looked right into the nearby horse "got to get your lovin' one more time!" the horse gave a small shake of its head.

"Hold me!" he jumped off the fence "roll me! Slow ridin' women, you're so fine!"

Now into the small guitar solo, he continued making his way down the line of horse stalls. Reaching the end, he did a quick one eighty, facing down the line of steers "I'm in mood yeah! The rhythm is right!"

He began to slowly strut "move to the music! We can roll all night!"

Coming at the middle, he did a head bang "slow ride!" he belted at the top of his lungs "take it easy!"

He turned to a nearby horse "slow ride! Take it easy!" this one gave a bit more of a reaction then the other, actually nickering slightly.

"Yeah!" Jess said at this "slow down! Go down! Got to get you're lovin' one more time".

Continuing to move, he kept singing, "hold me! Roll me! Slow ridin' woman, you're so fine!"

Coming back into the main entrance, the song reached its peak and entered into the final stages "slow ride!" he belted "easy!"

He pumped his arm in the air, head bobbing "slow ride! Sleazy!"

Just a few more verses and the song would be done "slow ride! Easy! Slow ride! Sleazy!"

And with the final note, the song was over "thank you Shattuck!" Jess yelled "you all have been a wonderful audience!"

Breathing heavily, he put the wrench back down. as the DJ was priming up another song, the radio switched off. looking over, he saw it was Ennis.

"yeah comin' fer lunch, or what?" he asked.

"Yeah, be right there" Jess replied.

Ennis smiled "what?" Jess asked.

"Yer really good" Ennis said, "I never knew you could sing".

Jess shrugged "useless talent number three. Great for karaoke night".

Putting away the last of the equipment, he headed out "after that, I could go for something to eat" and he had a certain pig in mind.


	14. Chapter 14

After finishing the last of his work duty, Jess practically crawled through the door and up to the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower. Getting out of his grimy, sweat lined clothes, he let the hot water run down his body, soothing his sore muscles and washing the filth off his body. He must have had about ten pounds worth of dirt on him cause when he stepped out, he felt as if another ten pounds of him had been shed off.

Whipping off the moisture from the mirror, it was if he was looking at himself for the first time in months, noticing that he had gotten bigger. He was still a walking post with legs but now he actually had a little bit of muscle built on him. More defined arms, chest a bit fuller, even the smallest hint of actual abs.

He smiled. Guess that's a perk for working on a ranch all year long.

He also noticed that his hair was getting a bit too long for his taste. Taking out a pair of shears from the medicine cabinet, he snipped of a good few inches before he was satisfied, short but not to short.

Picking up his towel, he scuffed up his head to get rid of any excess hair. Then covering himself up, he peaked outside to make sure no one was out, grabbed his dirty clothes, and sprinted across the hall to his room.

Once inside, he put on a clean pair of jeans and a band tee (Creedance Clearwater Revival), then headed over to Bobby's room.

"Knock knock" he said.

"Yeah?"

"You about ready?"

"Just give me a minute".

"Alright, meet me downstairs".

Ennis and Jack were in the living room, sitting on the couch.

"Hey" he greeted them.

"When are ya two leavin?" asked Ennis

"Lois said she'd pick us up at around six thirty".

"What exactly are you all seein?"

"The Outsiders" he replied, "I figured it was the appropriate movie. But the better question is how will you two survive without us?" Jess had a sneaking suspicion that their little sexual escapade was going to happen tonight, but just to be certain, he decided to poke the fires a bit.

He got his answer with Ennis's uncomfortable shift and Jack's "I'm sure we'll be able to occupy our time. After all, we need our breaks too".

Jess rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything, after all bringing it up would do absolutely nothing but misery. Besides let them have their fun, he thought.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs announced Bobby's arrival. He was dressed like he usually did, jeans, jack, t-shirt.

"Glad of you to join us" said Jess.

"Lois here yet?"

"Should be in a few" he replied.

"You guys know when yer gonna be back?"

"Well, we figured we might be out a bit later then usual" Jess said "if that's cool with you guys".

"Sure. After all, its James's last week, you guys should celebrate" said Jack.

"Cool" he said, just as a pair of headlights pulled up to the driveway "and that would be our ride".

"Have fun you two" said Jack.

Getting on his shoes, he exited the front door, quickly heading for the car "call shotgun!" he yelled.

"Hey Jess" said Lois as he got in "you and Bobby ready for our last hurrah?"

"As ever" he replied.

"You good back they're Bobby?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, its no trouble" he said, closing the door "hey James".

"Hey" he replied.

"All right lets roll on out" she shifted the car in gear and began to pull out.

"Oh wait" Jess said, flicking on the radio and starting to fiddle with the dials.

"What on earth are you doin?" she asked "I thought ya hated all the stuff on there?"

"Not until today, I finally found an actual decent station, thank god, if I had to listen to anymore country, heads would roll" he replied "now if I could just find it…" a few more tries and he got the station, just as Back in Black started.

"Aright, AC/DC!" and he cranked the volume up, the sound blaring from the speakers, the car thumping from the beats.

"Whoa, loud much!" Lois yelled over the noise.

"If we're gonna celebrate, ain't no better way then to rock out loud!" he yelled.

"Can't we just turn it down just a few?!" Bobby asked.

"oh come on, live a little!" he replied "and if your lucky, ya might be treated to some of my awesome karaoke!"

* * *

As they pulled up into the Kellyville drive in, Jess turned off the radio, Bobby letting out a sigh of relief that the blasting music had ended, except now his ears were ringing and he could barely hear anything.

Shaking his head a bit to try and readjust his frazzled mind, they came up to the ticket booth where a small brown haired kid was working, his face looking like it was recovering from a bad acne outbreak.

"hey Lois" he said "what'll it be?"

"what?" she asked loudly "sorry Artie but Jess was blastin' the music on our way over, can barely hear a thing".

"you guys are such newbies" said Jess "I'll handle this, four tickets for The Outsiders".

"alright" he rang them all up.

"oh yeah, I almost forget" said Lois, still talking loudly "Artie, this is Bobby, Jack's son".

"hey" he said.

"hey man" Bobby replied, his hearing still adjusting.

"here yer tickets" he handed Lois them.

"thanks Artie" she said, pulling through the gate and finding a parking space near the front.

Once parked, Lois said "Jess, its your turn fer snack brigade".

Jess rolled his eyes "I swear, why did we even start a snack brigade?"

"Since our little group expanded with James addition" she replied "and since I did it last time, Bobby is a guest, and James is the man of the hour, that leaves you with the duty".

"Jip" he said "alright, who wants what?"

"I'll take a popcorn and a Diet Coke," said Lois.

"Coke" said James.

"Bobby?"

"Uh…just popcorn and a Coke" he replied.

"What, no drink?" asked Jess.

He shook his head "naw, I'm good"

"Speakin' of drinks, since this is a special occasion" said Lois, reaching towards the glove department, flipping the handle and pulling out two brown paper bags "I figured it be only right ta celebrate with somethin' special". From the bags, she pulled out two large bottles of alcohol.

"Wow Lois, the good stuff too" Jess commented, "This really is a goodbye party".

"Ya shouldn't have Lois," said James.

"But I wanted ta" she replied.

"And how exactly did ya acquire these?" Jess asked.

"From the store" she said "but…dad doesn't exactly know".

"Look at Lois being the rebel" said Jess "I think a bit of me has rubbed off on you".

"Shut up" she chided " and I'm still hungry".

"Yes mame, don't need to be snappy" said Jess, getting out of the car and walking for the concession stand.

Lois turned around to face the two boys in the back "thanks again fer comin' Bobby".

"Thanks fer invitin' me" he said "and good luck with the move James".

"Thanks" he replied.

"Where exactly are ya goin' again?"

"Mansfield".

"And what is yer aunts job?"

"She got a nursing position at the hospital up there" he replied "we'd mainly been livin' off my uncles funds while my aunt tried to find another job".

"That's cool," said Bobby.

"So you seniors only got a few months left! Excited?" Lois asked.

"Yeah" Bobby said, though yeah would have been a bit of an understatement. After all the shit that has gone down over the past few weeks, the idea of getting out of Alderson high had become such a huge relief that he wished it would come sooner.

"Still searchin' over fer colleges?"

"Pretty much" he said "I was thinkin' of applyin' ta Oklahoma State in the fall".

"That's a good school," she said. If I even make it in, he thought. Even though his grades had improved over the last year, they were still low in State's eyes. Hopefully though it would be enough.

A sharp knock on the door diverted his attention, where Jess stood outside with an armful of popcorn bags and bottles of soda.

"Hurry hurry hurry" said Jess "I'm gonna drop all this stuff!"

Bobby helped him by opening the door. As he squeezed in, he took some of the food and drinks out of his hand, passing it around to everyone.

"Alright, alright" Lois said above the clamor "okay, take a large gulp of yer soda".

Bobby popped off the coke tap and swigged some of the liquid, everyone else doing the same.

"Okay, now" Lois propped up the two bottles "take yer pick".

"I've always been a vodka fan," said Jess "fill me up".

"Okay" she popped the bottle, took Jess's coke and gently poured the liquid in.

"Here ya go," she said, handing him his drink "James?"

"I'll take the scotch".

"Bobby?"

"Hmm…I'll go with the scotch as well".

"Man, you guys have the worst taste in alc" Jess said.

"What's wrong with scotch?"

"Nothing except it taste like shit," he replied.

"Alright, no fightin' now" said Lois as she poured vodka into her bottle "we can have an alcohol debate later, right now lets propose a toast".

Everyone raised their bottle "to James and a fond farewell" she began "may you have an awesome time in Mansfield, but not too awesome that you forget about us".

"Oh trust me, I won't forget any of you too soon" said James.

"Jess? Do you have some words?" she asked.

"Well, being put on the spot like this, all I can say is…" he thought for a moment "kick ass man".

"Really? That's it?"

"Hey, I'll take it," said James.

"Bobby?"

"Good luck" he said.

"Bit old, but it's a classic".

"Okay, enough of the formalities" Jess quipped "let toast". They clinked their glasses and drank, the movie screen flickering on and the first trailers starting to roll.

* * *

By the time the first hour of the film was over, a good portion of the alcohol had been consumed, with a substantial portion of the vodka going to Jess, who had forgone the pop entirely.

Bobby kept his intake to a minimum, as did Lois. James seemed to be a bit buzzed but it was definitely Jess who was beyond gone.

"Okay, enough for me" he said, pushing the nearly half full bottle away.

"That's what you said the last couple dozen times" Lois quipped.

"I lied those times" he said "but this time I am dead serious, and I mean dead serious" he fell back in his seat, head lolling slightly.

"Yep, he's had enough" she said, "Here James, hid this stuff from him".

"will do" he replied, taking the bottle and hiding it under the seat.

"ya know what, I'm really hungry" Jess said suddenly "I'll be right back" he opened the door, half walking, half stumbling out, grabbing the door for stability.

"man, I am so fucking drunk" he laughed, straightening himself and walking as best as he could.

"James, do ya think you can keep an eye on him" Lois asked.

"yeah, okay".

"you sure yer good enough?"

"don't worry, I'm fine" he said, getting out of the car and heading in Jess's direction.

Bobby adjusted himself in his seat, swiveling a bit of his leftover coke that had gone warm.

"hey Bobby" Lois said from the front "ya know, if ya want, you can come up here".

"wouldn't Jess…"

"please, he is so trashed that he will not care" she said "and I can use some company".

"okay, if ya insist" putting down his bottle in one of the holders, he squeezed himself through the gap in the seats, the action sounding very loud in his ears as the upholstery squeaked. Once in the front, he took a few little shifts before he settled comfortably in the seat.

She gave him a smile, which he returned, turning her head back to the film. For some reason, there seemed to be something off, an awkwardness that he had never noticed before. It was very strange.

"so you enjoyin' the movie?" she asked.

"uh yeah, its good" he replied.

"I think that Tom Cruise is kinda cute".

Bobby shrugged, "I mean, not that you would know" she added.

He laughed "yeah, right".

"Popcorn?" she held up the bucket.

"no, I'm good". Once again there was silence between them and their attention was on the film.

He tried to focus on the screen, but for some reason he kept diverting back to Lois. He noticed that she had grown her hair out a bit, red locks now creeping past her shoulders and that the green in her eyes seemed brighter this night. These were thing he would haven normally never noticed from her. In fact before Jess, he probably wouldn't have given Lois a second thought.

Before Jess and James, she was the school outcast, the one person no one had a second thought about. They knew she was the grocery owner's daughter but other then that, no one really knew anything about her nor cared that much about. She was just…a nobody.

"Jess and James have been gone awhile" her voice broke his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I hope nothin' bad has happened".

Bobby recovered "uh, I don't think so, they're probably fine. I mean, Jess did have a lot to drink".

"no shit, he drank half the bottle here" she held it up, eyeing it for a moment before smiling "hey, you wanna play a little game?"

"Okay, what game?"

"Truth reveler".

"What's truth reveler?"

She turned in her seat to face him "basically, when someone has the bottle, they have to reveal a truth about themselves, whether it be a secret, somethin' unique about them, anything really as long as its true. Once you tell, you then take a small drink of vodka and pass it on to the next person and then they tell a truth and so on. You up for it?"

He shrugged "sure, why not".

"Okay, seein' as how I have the bottle, I'll go first" she thought for a moment "I am deathly afraid of snakes" she brought the bottle to her lips and drank a small bit.

She passed it to him. okay, a truth, he thought, mulling it over for a bit on what to say.

"lets see…" he said "until recently, I have never missed an entire day of school" he took a sip, though a bit more then he intended, the drink burning his throat.

He passed it back to her "okay…in English last year, I completely forgot to do a written paper and only just remembered the day it was do, so I made one up during lunch and my teacher gave me an A for it".

Bobby chuckled "lucky, I could never get away with somethin' like that".

"alright, yer turn" she handed him the bottle.

He thought up of a good one "I once got my friend to do my entire day's work on the ranch if I promised to introduce him to a girl, only to have that girl reject him on the spot".

"that's so awful!" she exclaimed as he took a drink "who was the girl?"

"Christine Pinkly" he said.

"oh well that explains it, she's such a bitch" he gave her the bottle "alright…oh, one time this random guy came up to me and offered a hundred dollars to give him a blowjob. Apparently he thought I was a hooker".

Bobby laughed, though he quickly tried to suppress it "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"don't be, I think it's pretty hilarious myself" she gave him the bottle "yer turn".

They went on for a few more rounds and as more alcohol was consumed, the more wilder the truths.

"during Kris Masers party, three girls gave me head".

"not all at once!" Lois asked.

"no, of course not" he replied, taking a sip "it was over the night. yer turn".

"well, after that mine might be a bit tame" she said "I once walked in on my dad and one of his dates havin' sex".

Bobby groaned "oh, that's terrible".

"I know, scared me for life seein' my dad's bone white ass" she said "oh god, its makin' me sick jus' thinkin' about it. quick, go before it gets any worse".

He already had one ready "durin' that time when Tammy might have been pregnant, I was actually kinda excited ta be a dad".

"aw, that's so sweet!" she said "I think you would have made a great dad".

"thanks Lois" he said, taking his drink and passing it back to her. she took awhile to think of one, but when she did, a small smile passed her face.

"what? What's so funny?" he asked.

"oh nothin', its jus' one of those things you nervously smile about, ya know?"

"well go on, I'm actually kinda excited to know".

she threw her head back, letting out a sigh "okay, well…" she smiled again "for the longest time, I had the hugest crush on you".

His heart began to beat faster, palms sweating, his face going slack in a moment of disbelief "oh" was all he could manage to say.

"I know right?" she said "and jus' to add more ta the embarrassment, I would always daydream that one day you would jus' come up ta me in the halls and jus' kiss me. Pretty stupid, righ-"

Before she could finish, Bobby leaned in and kissed her. he held it for a good moment before he stopped, their lips hovering just a few inches from each other. He looked at her, she looking just as shocked as he must have been. Everything appeared to be silent, the whole car engulfed in a bubble, only the sounds of their breathing being heard.

Then she leaned forward and kissed him. at first hesitant, they both became more comfortable, Bobby parting his mouth slightly to let her tongue in. he reached behind her, hand lightly resting on her head, she taking the sign to pull in closer, pushing him back into the passengers seat until he hit the door.

He could feel himself getting hard, the feeling of it against his pants wanting him to go further, kiss her more deeply, pulling her in until he could feel every curve of her body.

It lasted only for a few more seconds before they gave each other one last kiss and Lois pulled away.

She tucked her hair back, a grin on her face "wow" she said.

"yeah" he replied.

"yer a really good kisser" she said.

"thanks. Yer not so bad yerself".

She laughed "yeah. Well, even though I've already gone, that's another secret of mine. This is actually the first time I've ever kissed a boy".

"no way" he said jokingly.

"yes way. I know, pretty pathetic right? I mean, what girl hasn't had her first kiss at eighteen?"

"well, fer a first timer, you were pretty fuckin' good".

"yer not jus' sayin' that are ya?"

"its not like I'm a very good liar".

She laughed again "yeah, that is kinda true".

They both chuckled for a moment, Lois resting her head on his chest "aw man, we must be drunk".

"maybe" he replied.

"god, I cannot believe I did that" she said "ya must think I'm a total geek".

"course not" he said "I was the one who started it. in fact" reaching over across the seat, careful not to move her too much, he took the vodka bottle.

"my secret" he said "for the past week, I think I've fallen for ya" when he said this, she looked up at him.

"it only took till tonight to find out" he finished.

"Ain't that the sweetest thing" she said, leaning in once again to kiss him.

she moved slightly to get more comfortable, letting her head rest on his shoulder "I don't suppose ya know what exactly is goin' on, huh?"

"not really" he replied.

"and where the hell are those two? It's been forever since they left".

"ya think we should go find them?"

"we should" she said "besides, we've missed way to much of the movie to know what's going on".

* * *

**Authors note: hey everyone, really sorry for the long delay. And yes, I know I have been teasing you about the whole threesome thing but trust me, after one more chapter, it will happen. Just wanted to say.**


	15. Chapter 15

Jess stumbled, arm flying out to grasp the nearest car as he steadied himself.

He chuckled "fuck, I am so drunk".

After what seemed like an eternity, he came up to the concession stand. He shook his head, telling himself to pull it together so he didn't act like a complete mess in front of the popcorn guy.

"A Dr. Pepper, please" he said, relieved that none of his words were slurred.

The kid at the counter came back with the bottle. Taking it, he popped open the top and took a long swig. He paid the man, then began to head back towards the car when he heard someone yell out.

"hey you!"

turning around, he had to squint his eyes to steady his vision, the figures materializing and a pit forming in his stomach when he saw who it was, Austin and his group. It wasn't like Jess was afraid of them, far from it, it was just he was way to drunk to be dealing with them at this very moment.

"oh god, what do you want?" he said.

"I think ya know ya fuckin' faggot" he hissed "didja really think that after that we was gonna let cha off?"

"actually yes" said Jess "I thought your memories were a lot shorter then I thought".

Austin shoved him, Jess flailing his arms to try and steady himself. On wobbly feet, he started to laugh.

"listen, as much as I want to continue this little saga, I'm not in the mood for you guys right now" in a more sounded mind, Jess would have tried to break it off and got out of there as fast as possible, but with the alcohol still in effect, he kept on prodding at them.

"so why don't you guys go trade some blowjobs with each other and call me up tomorrow and we can do this little dance again" he finished.

"that's it, yer gonna get it!" Austin hollered, ready to throw a punch.

"hey!" as if on cue, Jess saw James appear next to him.

the four of them were put off for a moment at his sudden arrival before Austin had the nerve to speak "this ain't got nothin' ta do with ya" he said "so jus' keep on walkin".

"I won't when ya guys are lookin' ta beat on my friend" he said "so do us a favor and jus' fuck off".

"hey come on man" one of Austin's friends said "let's get outta here".

"why? there's four of us and two of them" he replied.

"trust me, we do not want ta fuck with this guy".

Austin looked at his crew but seeing the looks of apprehension on their faces didn't help his cause.

"awe, ya guys are just a bunch of pussies" he turned back to James "let me tell ya somethin', I ain't afraid of you".

"don't hafta be" James replied "but ya can be smart. I can take ya out without even breakin' a sweat, and I really don't think you wanna test that theory out".

The look James gave him broke his already shaky confidence and he got the message.

"fine" he spat "don't think this is over fag" and he stormed off with his gang in toll.

Jess smiled "thanks man" he said, patting James on the shoulder "we sure showed them".

"you ok?" James asked.

"yes yes I'm fine" he replied "this isn't the first time I've gotten to wasted to even walk. I'm good, I just need to sit down".

With that said, he plopped down the ground, head resting on the grassy section where the cement parking lot ended. He took a deep breath as he felt his stomach do a slight flip flop, mouth watering, a sign for him that at any moment if he wasn't careful he could puke up whatever was swimming in his stomach.

"you look a bit pale" said James.

"bit of nausea. Just give me a moment and I'll feel better".

Jess adjusted himself a bit "I swear James, I hate to say it but in a weird way I've actually gotten used to this whole country living thing. I think I even like it".

"really".

"yeah" he propped himself up "sure it was shit in the beginning but now I've begun to actually see the upside of it. in a weird way, being an outcast was the best thing that happened to me here".

"don't hear alotta people say that" James said.

"don't get me wrong, it wasn't what I would have chosen" said Jess "even though I wasn't like fucking quarterback popular back in New York, I was still kinda the shit. But fuck, was it stressful".

"being…popular?"

"no, fucking people" he replied "that's the thing, people are so fucking complicated. And the more people involved the more messed up it becomes. People having fights, hanging alone with others, saying the wrong shit, it just makes ya want to become a loner just to get away from all the drama".

"cause that's the thing. I hate people, fucking hate them, because so much drama comes from them" he took a large gulp of his drink "I can't count all the times that Anna was pissed when I hung out with one of my other girl friends, or say something that would piss her off. same with other people. You can't be a hundred percent yourself with other people, you just can't".

"sounds awful lonely though".

Jess looked at him cockeyed but realized that was a bad idea when his eye did a loop-de-loop "here coming from Mister Solitaire".

"can't help that people wanna run when they first see me" said James "think what ya wanna but I ain't so different from everyone else. I wanted to be Mister Popular, have a group of friends, chase after girls, do stupid shit on a Friday night, do all the teen stuff yer suppose ta do".

"well ain't this a night of sharing" Jess remarked "so what happened to that? I mean, I ain't like my dad, but I'm pretty sure most girls would look past the mug once they got a load of that awesome bod".

James chuckled "well, after awhile, you just sorta fall into the whole lonely pattern. You jus' say ta yerself what's the point anymore? And you just accept it, keep to yerself, and stay inside yer head, basically you become yer best friend. You become this gray person that is indifferent to the world and to their situation. You don't care about spendin' nearly every day at home, what gossip goes on at school, who's who, you just retreat inta yer own little world".

"sounds rough" Jess said simply.

"yeah" he replied.

"well believe me, there are some days I used to want that" said Jess "there are just those days you get tired of the same old bull shit drama that its just easier to just distance yourself from people. Couples issues, parent drama, all that shit is manageable, its just when it gets repetitive that's when you get tired of it. Hearing about it over and over, it would drive me crazy having the same shit talked about every single day I was almost like fuck it, I be better of living like a hermit".

"you would have done that?"

"oh hell yeah" said Jess "I guess that's why I sorta have grown to like it here. You escape from the normal drama and get a whole new batch of drama, more interesting drama".

"From the deep to the sarcastic" James remarked

"yeah, that's what alcohol does" said Jess as he took another sip.

"you ok though?" asked James "not feeling light headed, nauseas, all the normal symptoms?"

"its passing" said Jess "god, what is even happening in this movie?"

"beats me".

"whatever, the book is always better" he adjusted himself onto his elbows "lets just chill here for a moment, I still don't feel too well".

They slipped back into silence, both looking back up to the screen in hopes of trying to figure out what on earth was going on in the movie.

* * *

"god dammit, where the hell did they go?" said Lois as she scanned the lot in search of those two, while Bobby trailed behind.

He was still sorta lost in a daze. He couldn't keep his eyes of her, his mind racing, and for the first time in what felt like forever he felt good inside, a feeling that for once seemed to push all of the shit out in the distance.

"wow, ain't this anti-climatic" Lois said, pulling Bobby out of his thoughts.

"oh, ya found them?"

"yeah, look at this" she said, indicating to a spot on the edge of the lot, where sure enough Jess and James were sitting "what the hell are ya guys doin?"

"oh hey" said Jess "just admiring the movie".

"you guys had us worried! We thought somethin' might have happened!" she said.

"don't worry Lois, its not like we're gonna be jumped everywhere we go" he replied.

"well come on, don't jus' sit there like a couple of hobos" said Lois.

"yes mom" said Jess, getting up with a little help from James.

"you at least a little sobered up?" asked Lois.

"oh yeah, I'm better" said Jess "no Linda Blair moment tonight".

"ok, good" said Lois.

"hey Bobby, eyes to yourself" said Jess.

"Huh?" Bobby said, realizing with embarrassment he had been staring at Lois "what are ya talkin' about?"

"hey I may be a bit gone but you were eying Lois up a storm".

"was not" he said, lowering his face to try and hid his increasingly red face.

"did we miss something while we were gone?" said Jess.

"ok, I think Jess here needs a little bit more soberin' up before we take ya home" said Lois.

"um yeah, about that, I don't think that's a good idea" he replied.

"huh?" she said.

"yeah, huh?" said Bobby.

"well, lets just say that our home is not really PG rated as of the moment" said Jess.

Bobby was confused "um, what?"

"oh my god Bobby, you are so conservative sometimes" said Jess "Jack and Ennis are having a threesome".

This had a very comical effect as everyone did a double take, with Bobby's mouth gaping slightly.

"excuse me?" said Lois "ok, someone is definitely still drunk".

"I'm not that drunk Lois".

"Uhh, a…threesome?"

"from what I gathered" said Jess "I overheard them the other day".

Bobby shook his head, gaining his sense "no way, I mean really, a threesome? You musta heard wrong. Ennis would never do somethin' like that! He gets leery eyed at any guy he thinks is checkin' out dad".

"hey, you can always call and ask" said Jess "though I'm not sure anyone will answer, since the ring won't be heard over the sounds of-"

"ok, that's enough" said Bobby, throwing his hands up and beginning to walk away "mental picture I really don't wanna hear".

"I'm just speakin' the truth" said Jess, as the rest followed them back to the car.

"ok, hold up" said Lois "first off, really? A threesome".

"yeah, I'm not listening to this" Bobby said, doing his best to drown out the talk.

So what if he's 'conservative', if that's what Jess likes to call it. It was something he was sure all teenagers agreed on that the last thing they want to hear about are their parents sexual escapades.

One of the things that helped was thinking about Lois and the game, and how much he so wished that it had never ended.

They eventually got back to the car, Jess and James taking the back while Bobby took the front seat.

"Well, I'm not judgin" said Lois, apparently wrapping up the conversation "I say experimentin' is just fine as long as their open to it".

"not to be a buzz kill but, I really don't want this talk to go on" said Bobby.

"don't worry, its ended" said Jess "sorry Bobby, it's done with".

"S'ok" he replied "so then where are we goin now since our house is off limits apparently".

"you guys can stay at my place" said James "my aunt won't mind, and I'm pretty sure that Mr. Madera wouldn't like three teenage boys shackin' up at his place with his daughter".

"awe, so modest" said Jess.

"yeah, I think we need ta see this movie again" said Lois "cause right now I have no clue what's going on and someone just got killed".

"I just say fuck it at this point" said Jess.

Giving up entirely on the movie, they talked for the rest of it until the credits began to roll. They pulled out of the place and pretty soon arrived at James house.

"if only this place had somethin' else then a move drive in" said Jess "then we could have made James last hurrah more of an event".

"hey, I enjoyed it" said James "all in all I thought it was a pretty good night. Thanks ya guys. I swear, its gonna be weird without ya guys".

"awe, don't worry James, I'll call ya everyday" said Lois "and so will Jess and Bobby".

"maybe once a week" said Jess.

"Jess!"

"kidding. Don't worry, we won't let ya get to lonely up there in what's its place".

"ya know what" said Bobby, "we should have one last toast".

"now you're talking" said Jess.

"you get a half a shot" said Lois as she picked up the vodka bottle.

"for the last time, I'm not that drunk anymore!" said Jess.

"ok, hush hush" said Lois, lifting the bottle "here's to a night we will never forget and to a friend we will miss and to new beginnings" with that last bit Bobby noticed she was looking at him with a smile, the look sending a tingle down his spine, he returning it as well with a smile as well.

"cheers!" said Jess.

"cheers" said James.

Lois took a swig, then Jess, James, and lastly Bobby.

"alright, come on" said James "we better git in there. I'll get some blankets and pillows for ya guys".

"I'll help" said Jess.

"alright ya guys, behave yerselves" said Lois.

"don't worry" replied Jess.

"hang on, I'll be there in a moment" said Bobby "I jus' need ta find somethin".

"pish, yeah right" said Jess, Bobby trying to aim a swat at him but he was out of the car before he could land a hit.

He then looked back at Lois "I had a really nice time tonight".

"yeah, me too" she replied, her cheeks starting to blush.

Bobby smiled, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek "get home safely ok?"

"don't worry I will" she replied, leaning forward and this time giving him a kiss on the lips.

He really didn't want to go inside and there was so much he wanted to say to her but he couldn't form the sentences.

"uh…" he tried in vain "see you soon".

"I'm pretty sure you will" she replied.

"oh yeah, Jess, right" he said.

Lois chuckled "what?" said Bobby.

"your so cute" she said.

"so are you".

Now she was blushing heavily "you should get in there before they start to talk".

"yeah, knowin' Jess he won't let it die so easily" he grasped the handle and slowly opened the door "get home safe, ok?"

"I will".

"good night"

"good night".

He got out, closing the door, though he didn't go in immediately. He stood there for a moment on the grass and watched as her car drove away before disappearing around the street, but not before he saw her stick her arm out the window and wave goodbye, he picking up his hand without even thinking.

Bye Lois.

* * *

**Authors Note: Hey everyone, long time no see.**

**I am so sorry about the long as hell wait. I mean shit, a year? Really? A year? Its been that long? There was just a lot of stuff going on and unfortunatly my writting sorta took a backseat to it all. Anyway, I'm sorry and I hope this does not happen again and you won't have to wait a year for updates. Again, I am so sorry.**


	16. Chapter 16

Ennis looked at himself in the mirror, fusing over his shirt, though he wasn't sure why since it ain't like he would be wearing it for long. But then he didn't want to seem like he was being lazy.

His mind was so confused; he wasn't sure how to react.

Come on Del Mar, come on he thought, you have been through this a million times. This is for Jack, its what he wants; you already made your decision, no turning back now.

Look on the positives, there's no denying that Caleb is good looking. Shit, handsome, as the devil, and at least you know he's a decent man. It could be a lot worse; you could have hired some sleazy prostitute or something, unkempt and riddled with all sorts of diseases.

You can do this.

He kept staring in the mirror but no matter what, he still could not shake that feeling.

The whole thing unnerved him. He was very traditional man; sex is something between two people who are in love with each other. This whole threesome shit just seemed so…unappealing.

And the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize how real it was going to be. In a matter of hours this he will see Jack kissing Caleb, holding his body, sucking his cock, even getting fucked by him.

An image flashed in his brain.

He watched as Caleb pounded into Jack, his face lit with ecstasy, both men sweating "aw yeah that's it, take it" Caleb hissed "like that?"

"Oh yeah" cried Jack "come on, fuck me" and he moaned even louder as Caleb picked up speed, the audible clap being heard.

Just the mere thought of it sent Ennis's blood boil. It angered him. He didn't want anyone fucking Jack, no one. Fuck, why had he been so stupid? Why did he ever agree to this?

He walked out of the bathroom, sitting down on the bed, the bed that it was going to take place. The place where it had been just he and Jack for all these years. Just the thought that there would be a third person just seemed so wrong.

How can Jack possibly go through with this? How could he throw away something like that?

He pounded his fist into the bed in frustration, realizing just how big he had fucked up and just realizing it at the worst possible time only seemed to make it ten times worse. Great, just great, he thought, just my fucking luck.

But now, there was nothing he could do.

More then ever he realized that saying. You made your bed, now you must lie in it, and lie in it will he ever.

He finally got up and walked downstairs, Jack sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey" said Jack.

"Hey" he replied, trying his best to hide his emotions, putting on a brave face.

"How ya feelin?"

Ennis shrugged "weird mixture of a lot of things. Exited, nervous, ya know".

Jack looked at him with a probing look "are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine" he said, "Wanna beer?"

"Sure".

Shit, Ennis thought as he walked away. He doesn't believe me. He knew that look anywhere. It meant that he knew something was going on beneath that stony exterior that he was refusing to share.

And then the door knocked, Ennis heart racing.

"Hey there" he heard Caleb say.

"Hey" said Jack, the sound of his feet getting off the couch to greet their guest. Better grab three, Ennis thought as I opened the fridge.

"Hey Ennis" said Caleb, a smile on his face "how ya doin?"

"Ok" he said evenly, holding out the beer.

"Shit, thanks" he said, "If I'd known, I'da brought a case".

"Hey, have to make our guest comfortable" said Jack, sitting back down on the couch, Ennis plopping next to him, making sure he was right by his side.

"What time the kids suppose ta be back?" asked Caleb.

"Not till late, Jess's friend is movin' away so their havin' a farewell night fer him" said Jack.

"Well that sounds nice". Ennis snapped open his beer, the sound making an audible hiss through out the room.

"Ya guys have a real nice place," he said.

This was going to be a long night, thought Ennis, taking a long chug of his beer.

"Well for all the hard work we put in, I'd hope it look nice," said Jack.

"How long ya guys had this place?"

"Well shit, I think its going on…sixteen years, ain't that bout right Ennis?"

"Yeah, jus' bout" he said, taking another long chug, the beer already half gone.

"Damn, that's quite somethin" Caleb acknowledged, "I don't mean to pry but, sixteen years? Why didja guys decided to come out now?"

This made Ennis's eye twinge slightly. Ok, this is just supposed to be a fuck, not some kind of reunion of friends. He was right, this was definitely going to require a lot more booze.

"We jus' figured it was the right time" said Jack "I don't know, it jus'…its hard ta explain. With the business going so well and everythin', it seemed like it fit".

Ennis finished up his beer "ya guys want another?"

"I'm okay," said Jack.

"Wow, I didn't even crack mine open yet" said Caleb "but a spare wouldn't hurt".

Ennis looked at him, a hint of a smile on his face. Damn, he was handsome.

And then it happened again.

He saw Caleb naked, well-muscled body all ready for the taking, a devilish look in his eye.

"Ya think yer ready for this?" he asked, hand grabbing at his hanging cock.

Then Ennis was back to reality. He shook his head and made his way to the fridge. At this point beer was slowly starting to lose its appeal and the bottle of the hard stuff was looking extremely good at this point.

He just didn't understand it, how could people possibly find this attractive? All he was getting was a headache, anxiety, and a twisty knot in his stomach. He grabbed two more, already popping the top of one and taking a long chug. Shit, he should just bring three since it seemed like this wasn't going to last very long. So he grabbed another, heading back to the room where Caleb and Jack were talking.

"Thanks Ennis" he said, taking the can from him, their fingers lightly touching.

And Ennis could feel himself lying on the bed, Caleb on top, grinding on top of him. Jack's appeared from behind him, running down his body, kissing on his neck, both men moaning.

"no problem" said Ennis, the can already on his lips as he sat back down.

"well enough about us" said Jack "tells us about you? Why didja come to Shattuck?"

"jus' a change of scenery, fresh start and all that" he replied "I used ta live in the city with this guy. We had been datin' ever since we were in high school, it was before I moved out here that we broke up".

"I'm sorry ta hear that" said Jack, "what happened, if ya don't mind me askin?"

Caleb shrugged "we had jus' grown apart was all, and I jus' wasn't as happy as I was in the city. I had come out to my parents when I had graduated and they didn't really take it so well, ta say the least".

As he took his first sip, Ennis finished up his beer and was going for his third "It was mostly because of the fights between them and him that it got so bad. Every other day there seemed to be some kind of problem and after so long it jus' became so old. I finally jus' had enough and wanted ta get away. So I took my share and then relocated here, live a more quiet life, at least until I figured shit out".

"wow, that's a pretty big decision" Jack said.

"it was, but I needed the change".

Ennis flipped up the tab, his mind drifting again.

Back in the room again, he saw Caleb and Jack in a tight embrace, both kissing passionately. Caleb hands were all over him, one on the small of his back, the other grasping a chunk of Jack's ass.

A shift and they were unbuckling their pants, Caleb's hand coming up and shoving Jack down there. He gripped his hair, throwing his head back, mouth open in awe, then he looked into Ennis's eyes.

"whoa there Ennis" Jack's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He realized he had been gripping the beer can so hard it was starting to overflow all over his hand.

"oh shit" he said, loosening his grip and shaking the beer off his hand "sorry about that".

"you ok?" he asked.

"yeah, I'm ok" he replied, taking another drink. Just fucking great he thought.

"hey, slow down their tiger" said Caleb "ain't like we're in a rush". Oh fuck you, Ennis thought, clenching his jaw and diverting his eyes downward, trying to cover up his emotions.

Goddamn, can't we just get this shit over with?

"hey Caleb, can I talk to ya outside?" said Jack.

"yeah sure" he said.

"Ennis, this will only take a minute".

"whatever" he replied, chugging the entire before they could even close the door.

Fuck this, he was definitely going to need some whiskey for this. Heading back into the kitchen, he reached to the top of the fridge, opening the cabinet and pulling out the bottle. Not even bothering getting a glass, he opened the top and took a swig, the burning liquid a welcome relief for him.

Yeah, that was much better.

What were they even talking about anyway? Probably discussing what they were going to do, who went first, who fucked who.

See fuck, he thought, that's his point right there. It's so fucking confusing! Sex shouldn't have to be like that. How could nobody pull their hair in frustration over that?

And then what happens if someone misses their 'cue' or something or someone goes in to kiss someone else and realizing they didn't want to kiss them.

He tilted back the bottle, trying his best to silence the maelstrom of thoughts running rampant through his head.

He rubbed his head, a splitting headache now beginning to come on. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Jack fucking Twist, he thought, this had better be worth it.

* * *

Jack could tell that something was wrong. Living and loving Ennis for so long he could just tell when something was on his mind the minute he walked into a room and tonight he could see it. Face clenched, shoulders hunched, eyes diverted from his, it was a sure sign that he was not comfortable with this.

He had this suspicion for the longest time that Ennis was not really up for it and really he was just putting up a front. For awhile he actually believed it he was so convincing but it took tonight, when it was real and was actually about to happen that his mask came down and he saw all that he was feeling and it made Jack feel like shit.

It just killed him seeing Ennis like that. And all over his selfish desires. He should have known he would not be comfortable with this and should have done something or said something as soon as he knew something was wrong.

And really, a pair of jeans or ranch equipment was a much better birthday present then a threesome. Shit that was something that yeah did when you were in high school or college or something, not when you're almost forty and in a committed relationship.

This just couldn't happen and he had to stop it.

"hey Caleb, can I talk to ya outside?"

"yeah sure"

they got up and headed outside.

It was a perfect spring night, just the right temperature. Not to cold but just chill enough that you could sleep comfortably. The stars were especially bright as well, doting the sky like tiny lights.

It brought Jack back to those nights on the mountain. He swore there must have been something magical about that mountain, even if the nights were freezing as shit, there was nothing like it anywhere else. The peace, serenity, and beauty about those nights, feeling as though they were the only two people left in the world.

It was very rare that Jack had these moments, were everything was lined up just right so it would take him back to those days. And when it did, he tried his best not to break it, not to make it go away.

How ironic though, that a night like this would occur. Maybe it was a sign or something.

"Ennis looks awfully nervous" Caleb remarked.

"yeah, he is".

"I take it ya guys don't do this often" he assumed.

"was it that easy ta tell?"

"completely" he replied.

Jack shrugged "I jus' don't think this is gonna work. I can already see it just being awkward and weird and I jus' don't wanna do that ta Ennis".

Caleb nodded his head "I understand" he said "but, ya mind if I say somethin?"

"sure" he said.

"it jus' seemed like before tonight both of ya were comfortable with it" said Caleb "and then all of a sudden he gets cold feet?"

"whaddya mean?"

"I jus' think he feels intimidated is all" he remarked "and he wanted ta put a stop to it".

"that's not how it is, really" Jack said "I knew he didn't want to do it, he was jus' tryin' ta make me feel good".

"it jus' seems like ta me he's very controllin" said Caleb "and that me comin' in jus' messes with his control".

"really, it aint like that. Ennis has his jealousy but believe me in no way is he controlling, far from it".

Caleb didn't seem so convinced "what?" asked Jack.

"I jus' think you can do so much better" he said simply.

They looked at each other for a moment before Caleb spoke again "you guys have a good night. I'll see ya at work".

He walked off the porch, Jack standing there shaking his head.

No, he thought, he couldn't do better. He knew Ennis was the one. No one could replace him.

He turned and opened the door, seeing Ennis in the kitchen, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Immediately he could tell that something was wrong. His eyes were darkened with rage and there was a menacing feel in the air, like one wrong move could send him over the edge in a rage

"have a nice talk?" he said, his voice already slurring, barely disguising his emotions.

Jack closed the door, looking at Ennis, who began to notice Caleb's absence "speakin' o which, where is he? Shouldn't we be getting' this over with?"

Jack kept looking on him. I can't believe I did this to him.

"what?" he asked "what's goin'? are we gonna get this goin' or what?".

He then went towards Ennis, wrapping his arms around him, head nesting in the comfortable crook of his shoulder.

"I love you Ennis" he said softly.

And he felt it. the rage leave his body, the oppressing air lift, and the awkward, angry mood vanishing. Actions truly did speak louder then words.

"I love you too Jack" he replied, confusion in his voice "what's going on?"

"Caleb left" he said.

"wha?" Ennis said, putting the bottle down on the table "he left?"

"I told him too"

"why?" Ennis said, looking down at him.

"I knew you didn't want it" said Jack "and I know you were tryin' ta put on a brave face but…"

"my brave face was for shit, right?" he finished.

Jack laughed lightly "yeah".

He pulled himself up, looking Ennis in the eye "I love you Ennis. I'm so sorry about tonight. It was a stupid request".

"no" Ennis drawled, for a moment making it sound like he was joking but then he got serious "no, really Jack, it wasn't. I mean, I know people have their…fantasies, if ya want ta call them that. I knew its what ya wanted and…I jus' wanted ta make ya happy. That's all I ever want is ta make ya happy".

"and believe me, you have" said Jack "this year I couldn't have asked for anymore then when you finally said ya wanted to come out. I mean, you have no idea how much that meant ta me".

"really? How so?"

"it was jus'…it felt so good. Like we had finally lifted that last big obstacle we had set out ta do. be together, start this business, raise a family, all that was missin' was that last thing".

"and you don't regret it?"

Jack shook his head "not even the slightest. It made me fall for ya all over again. And after that, the whole threesome thing became so less important that I didn't care anymore".

He leaned in and kissed him "I'm sorry, it was a stupid thing, and I love ya".

Ennis smiled "Jack Twist, always so good with the words".

Ennis returned the kiss, bringing him back into his arms, Jack getting into the familiar shape their bodies made when they were this close.

"yeah know" Ennis whispered, hand slipping down his back "we still have the house ta ourselves, all this free time. And this was suppose ta be yer birthday night".

Ennis looked at him "so what is it ya wanna do now?"

Jack shrugged "honestly, I don't know".

"come on, anythin" said Ennis.

"I wouldn't mind jus' a quite evenin" said Jack "and" he reached over, grabbing the bottle of the table "someone needs ta help ya finish this off".

"now who said you could have that?"

"I believe I am the birthday boy here" he replied coyly "and ya know I hate being the sober one. Can't let ya have all the fun".

"and ya know" he continued "it's a pretty nice night out tonight".

"yeah?"

"it reminds me of those nights" he said "ya know…"

"I know" he replied, "Well, I don't think we should let that go to waste".


	17. The Only Exception

**Authors note: this is going to be a short break in the Spring section, better to help lead up to the following events in the story. This chapter is based on the Paramore song The Only Exception. I think it's a beautiful song and it just feels right for this chapter.**

**

* * *

**

Ennis went into the small closet in their room and grabbed a blanket. Before he left, he took a look at the small mosaic of pictures that hung on one side of the door.

There had been some new additions to the collection. All of them were from the scrapbook Jess had given him for Christmas. He had made sure he to get at least one photo from each year.

Nesting the blanket under the crook of his arm, he headed downstairs, Jack waiting for him on the porch.

"All set?" he asked.

"Yep, jus' need ta find a spot now".

"I think I know the perfect place".

"And where might that be?"

"Surprise" said Jack, grabbing him by the hand.

"I thought it was suppose ta be yer birthday not mine"

"Trust me, you'll like it".

_When I was younger I saw,_

_My daddy cry, and curse at the wind_

Jack led him to the back of the house, where the ranch was the predominate feature of the entire few acres of land, the rest that wasn't occupied being open grassland. He pointed to a spot.

Ennis laid out the blanket, smoothing it out as best as he could before Jack sat down, he awkwardly half sitting, half tipping as he got a seat.

"Yeah, I see I have a long way ta go," said Jack.

"Don't worry, I think I'm good fer now, so its all yours" Ennis replied.

"Gladly" he took a swig from the bottle.

Ennis slowly reclined back, adjusting himself to get comfortable.

_He broke his own heart and I watched,_

_As he tried to reassemble it_

His body felt warm from the alcohol, the cool breeze from the night giving him the perfect temperature. The stars above glowed brightly, moving slightly in his skewed vision, though it was a calming movement.

He felt Jack rest himself against him, resting on his chest, he putting an arm around him in response.

"Yer right" Ennis said.

"Bout what?"

"Bout tonight being one of those nights".

_And my momma swore that she would,_

_Never let herself forget._

"It's a good thing we weren't copped up inside ta miss it" he continued.

"Ennis-"

"Don't worry Jack, I don't care" said Ennis "as long as I know I have you, I don't care".

_And that was the day that I promised,_

_I never sing of love,_

_If it does not exist_

"You'll never lose me," Jack whispered.

_But darling…_

"I know".

_You are the only exception_

He just couldn't believe it had been so many years since those nights on the mountain. It only seemed like yesterday.

_You are the only exception_

There were some nights he wondered what would have happened if he had never said yes to Jack, stayed with Alma, and continued the rest of his life in what he was raised as being normal.

_You are the only exception_

He looked down at Jack, kissing him lightly on the head.

He didn't want to think what might have been.

_You are the only exception…_

_

* * *

_

Bobby was on the floor of James bed, both of them seemingly passed out right now. He couldn't sleep, his head laying on the pillow, his eyes wide open, mind refusing to shut off.

_Maybe I know, somewhere,_

_Deep in my soul_

_That love never lasts_

He lifted himself up, looking around at the others, making sure they were fast asleep. Doing his best, he silently got up, walking over Jess's sleeping body and out into the hallway.

Going into James's living room, he spotted the telephone on a small glass table.

_And we've got to find other ways_

_To make it alone_

_Or keep a straight face_

He leafed through the yellow pages till he found the number, dialing it carefully, the sound of ringing sending his heart pounding, hoping that he wasn't calling too soon or too late.

_And I've always lived like this,_

_Keeping a comfortable, distance_

Lois walked into the house, setting her keys down on the small wood table. She went to the sink and filled up a glass of water, having become very thirsty and to prevent the hangover that would likely follow if she didn't.

_And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content,_

_With loneliness_

The phone began to ring. I wonder who's calling this late.

She picked it up and put the receiver to her ear "hello?"

_Because none of it was ever worth the risk_

"Hey, its me" came Bobby's voice

_But you are the only exception_

"Hey" she said, her voice a mix of so many emotions she couldn't even put in words.

"I jus' wanted ta see if ya got home safely" he said.

_You are the only exception_

"Yeah, I'm ok" she replied, "everyone else passed out?"

"Yeah, pretty much".

"How are you?"

"I'm ok"

_You are the only exception_

"Good" she said, finding herself twirling the phone cord in her hand.

She heard Bobby cough on the other "well, I jus' wanted ta make sure you were okay. Get some sleep ok?"

"I will".

"See ya soon"

She smiled "yeah, see ya soon".

"Good night"

"Night"

_You are the only the exception_

Bobby hung up the phone. His mind having been silenced, a calming effect taking over him. He felt himself smiling. Weird, even when he was madly in love with Tammy, never once did he get this feeling.

Lois Madera.

He then headed back to the room.

* * *

Time seemed to stand still as they lay on the blanket. A soft breeze blew across the field, lightly brushing past his skin. Ennis looked down at Jack, who seemed to have dozed off on his chest.

"Jack?" he asked. No response.

"Happy birthday" he said.

Lois sat down on her bed. She noticed her sketchpad laying on her nightstand. Taking it, she flipped open the pages and came upon the ones she did of Bobby. She had done two, one she gave him and the other she kept herself.

_I got a tight grip on reality but I can't_

_Let go of what's in front of me here_

This was a close up of his face, his head against the tree trunk, gazing off in the distant, a smoldering look in his eye.

The whole night the kiss had been replaying in her head. She just couldn't believe that someone like Bobby Twist, one of the most popular and good looking kids at school, could have a crush on the art freak Lois.

_I know your leaving in the morning when you wake up_

_Leave me with some kind of proof its not a dream_

It was something out of a movie. And it was one movie she hoped to see through to the end.

_Ooh…_

_

* * *

_

_You are the only exception_

The night had worn on. The alcohol had long left Ennis's body and Jack still snoozed on his chest.

_You are the only exception_

Even though he had been proud of him, Ennis was still scared. Although nothing bad had happened yet, things were only going to get escalate from here. He knew that. The boys had already felt it at school.

_You are the only exception_

Soon it will reach them.

Maybe he was over thinking everything, as he always did, but if the worse was yet to come, it would only be good to prepare for it.

_You are the only exception_

He looked down at the man he loved, nestled comfortably in his arms.

Don't worry Jack, I won't let anything happen to you.

_You are the only exception_

I promise you that.

_You are the only exception_

Lois gave one last look at the drawing before setting it back down, pulling the covers over her and turning the lights off.

Good night Bobby

Back at James's house, Bobby put his head on the pillow, sleep coming to him/

_You are the only exception_

With that, Ennis slowly drifted off too sleep, the two men lost in their own private world. And for a moment, they were back on Brokeback Mountain.

_And I'm on my way to believing_

And just like the entire night, even before sleep took him, Lois was always on his mind.

_"_Ooh, and I'm on my way to believing" he silently murmured.


	18. Chapter 17

"Now remember ta call us at least once a day" Lois said as she had James in a tight embrace "and when ya guys get there safely".

"Geez Lois, give the kid some breathing room" Jess remarked.

"Oh hush you, I can be like this if I wanna" she said, waving her hand at him to further prove her point "we're losin' a valuable member of our team. We're like losin' a musketeer!"

"We're not permanently losing him" he said, "more like we're just downgrading to Lennon and Ono and I'm in a fallout with McCartney".

"That's terrible!"

"Oh they make up" said Jess "I mean, for like a year before they go back to hating each others guts but still, he'll always be apart of the gang".

"I think what he is tryin' ta say is, we're gonna miss ya" said Lois, hugging James again.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss ya guys too" he replied.

They were outside on James's lawn, the moving truck parked in the driveway, all of the stuff having been put into boxes and stored, dishes, utensils and the like. The furniture had been expertly arranged for maximum space use, with tables stacked on top of one another, the mattresses sandwiched against each other on each side of the wall, and the rest of the stuff that they weren't sure what to do with in the front.

James's aunt was still talking to the movers, going over the best route on how to get to Mansfield in the shortest amount of time. Jess had heard her say she was not going to spend a fortune on moving costs.

"Ok seriously Lois, your gonna kill the guy if ya don't give him some room" Jess said.

"Bitch, bitch, and bitch" Lois chided, finally releasing James.

"I don't bitch," said Jess "I'm just…opinionated".

"Put it mildly" she said.

Jess rolled his eyes, stepping over to James "but in all serious, I really am gonna miss ya. You've helped me out of a lotta shit and I can't tell ya how much that means to me".

"Its nothin', really. Jus' wanted ta help" he then held out his hand, hoping for a shake.

"Aww, come on" said Jess "none of that" so instead he gave him a hug, who at first was a little taken aback but only for a moment before he hugged back.

"God, this sucks" said Jess, the two of them disengaging "now who am I gonna spend aimless hours in a garage with?"

"I'm sure you'll find ways ta fill your time" he said "but shit, I'm jus' worried bout what Macarthur-"

"Oh please, that douche?" he said "trust me James, I can handle him on my own. Sure before I was a scared puppy with his tail between his legs, but that was only because of the circumstances. Believe me, he is no threat to me anymore".

"Well good" he said.

"James" it was his aunt "come on, time to get rollin".

"Okay" he replied, "be there in a sec".

He turned back to them "well guys, I'll see ya soon hopefully".

"Ok, you behave up there," said Jess, Lois giving him another hug as she whispered another 'call us when you get'.

Finally when all goodbyes were exchanged, James got into the car with his aunt. They maneuvered around the movers, turning onto the street, the passenger side visible to them.

Jess and Lois waved goodbye, he doing the same, the car then driving off down the street, the moving van right behind them. They kept on waving until the tiny caravan of cars disappeared down the road.

He put a arm around Lois's shoulder "well girl, its jus' us again".

"Its gonna be so weird" she said as they headed to the car.

"We did it before" he said "and this just means you get to see more of my shinning face".

She shoved him "oh shut up", both of them laughing.

Jess's laughter died as he realized where he was off to "oh god, I am so not looking forward to this".

"I'm sure the visit is not going to bad" said Lois "after all, it seems Lureen jus' wants ta try and be closer with her son and ta you and Ennis".

"Yeah, I guess," said Jess "except why does that fat turd have to be there".

"Maybe she jus' wants ta try and clear the air with L.D. and Jack and Ennis".

"Clear the air?" Jess said, "That miserable ass is about as ignorant as they come. There is no fucking way he is going to change, she just bringing him is going to cause nothing but trouble. As for that Fayette or whatever the hell her name is, I don't even think she's really sick. Just a crock excuse so she didn't have to socialize with the degenerates".

"So why not have L.D. use the same excuse?"

"Lureen probably convinced him to come, somehow, or work out a deal that one of them had to go" He sighed, "Oh, what the hell do I know? Worse comes to worse, it'll be fun ripping him to shreds".

"Which is the exact opposite of what she wants" she said sternly.

"yes mother" he said in a saintly voice.

"I won't tell ya what ta do" she said, throwing her hands up "I'm jus' tryin' ta be the voice of reason".

* * *

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Ennis cursed as he pulled out the now smoking pasta shells from the oven. He had been so caught up in finishing last minute work on the ranch he had completely forgotten about them.

"god dammit!" he yelled. Mostly he was frustrated with himself but he knew that this would give L.D. a chance to crack some joke like, what, you the only fags that can't cook?

Looking at dish, the sauce was burnt at the edges and the tops of the shells were a shade of brown, but by the looks of it the meal wasn't a complete lost.

Opening the window, he fanned out some of the smoke from the room.

"hey" Jack said, coming down the stairs, dressed in his best shirt and jeans "everythin' ok?"

"dinner's burnt" he grumbled.

"shit!" Jack said "that was goin' ta be the main meal! What the hell were ya doin?"

"gettin' shit done while you were busy gettin' ready" Ennis snapped "what's yer problem?"

Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose "I'm sorry, I'm jus' nervous is all. The last thing I need is L.D. makin' some crack about-".

"Fags not bein' able to cook" he finished "believe me, I've thought of it".

"I'm sorry Ennis, I didn't mean to get so mad. its jus' I finally wanna show that bastard up" Jack said.

It had been a good five years since Jack and Ennis have actually seen L.D. face to face and the last time definitely wasn't under the best circumstances. They had to come pick Bobby up early when Lureen was called to a meeting last minute. Getting on the next flight to Childress, they were at her house and Jack headed up to get Bobby while Ennis stayed behind.

It didn't take all but five minutes before he could hear shouting. Then he got out of the car to see what was going on, finding the two men yelling curses and cusses, with Bobby at the stairs looking on in confusion, not knowing what to do.

"If ya know what's best, ya would let Bobby stay with his mother!" yelled L.D.

"Why? Jus' because I'm a queer?"

"God damn right! You are only causin' the kid grief and confusion!"

Ennis was soon in the thick of the argument, and before he knew it he was about ready to punch L.D. out, Jack having to restrain him. Ever since then they hadn't spoken a word to him. though they did hear the trickle of comments coming from him whenever Bobby came back from a stay with his mother.

"Bobby almost ready?" Ennis asked.

"yeah, jus' bout" Jack looked over his shoulder "and it looks like Jess is back".

Ennis saw Lois's familiar car in the driveway, Jess getting out and walking up to the door.

"what's burning?" he said as soon as he walked in.

"dinner" Ennis grumbled.

"ehh, pour enough sauce over it and it'll be fine" said Jess.

"that isn't what yer wearin', ain't it?" Jack asked. Jess was wearing a pair of baggy dark jeans and a band shirt (Jethro Tull).

"I wear this everyday" he replied "besides, ain't like we're dressing to impress".

"Jess" Jack said in a agitated voice.

"what?" he replied "its not the first time I'm meeting them and besides, there only…family" he said in a mildly disgusted tone.

"please Jess, can ya at least spruce up a bit? A decent shirt and pants that aren't two sizes too big"

"fine fine" said Jess "sheesh, when did ya morph into a stereotype".

"Jess!" Jack said.

"ok, going" he said, heading to the stairs.

"and Jess, remember what we talked about" Jack warned.

"I know, I know, no starting shit with L.D." Jess answered "like you haven't said it fifty million times already. Don't worry, there will be a white flag for all this".

"ok, good" said Jack.

"but I swear, if he acts up or says one fag remark, gloves are off" he raised his hands "just warning you" and then he went upstairs.

"well, at least he'll try" Jack muttered under his breath.

"when will they be here?" asked Ennis.

"bout twenty minutes or so" he replied.

"Ok, I guess we can jus' tidy up a bit" though Jack had spent hour cleaning so much there really wasn't anything left to 'tidy up'.

And those twenty minutes seem to go by fast. Before Ennis knew it, he was looking out the window to see a white Mercedes pulling up the driveway. A car he instantly recognized at Lureen's.

"shit, there here" Jack said when he saw "Bobby! Jess! Come on their here"

he saw Lureen get out of the passenger side, hair still as platinum blonde as ever and a swath of makeup on her face. Ennis felt his heart rate rise when he saw L.D. step out. God damn, had he always been that fat? He thought.

Bobby came fumbling down the stairs "where's Jess?" asked Jack "Jess! What are you doing!"

"hang on!" he heard him yell.

Then just as quickly as they arrived, they heard them knock on the door. well, here goes nothing, thought Ennis as he walked up to the door.

Bobby opened it for them, the two of them standing in the doorway. L.D. had his hands in his pockets, while Lureen was the first one to step through.

"hi mom" said Bobby.

"Bobby" she replied, giving him a hug "how are you?"

"I'm ok" he replied.

They disengaged, Lureen looking over his shoulder at Jack "hello Jack" she said in a steely but politely.

"hey Lureen" he said, the two of them shaking each others hands, meanwhile Bobby said hi to L.D. who mumbled something that Ennis couldn't quite make out though he was pretty sure it was a hello.

Then Lureen turned to him "Ennis" she said curtly.

"Lureen" he replied.

"nice ta see you again".

"uh, yeah, nice ta see you too" he said.

There was an awkward silence, broken by the sound of footsteps running down the chair, Ennis turning to see Jess appear, surprised to see him dressed in jeans that actually fit and a solid colored shirt with nothing on them.

Jess was a bit caught off guard for a moment, but he seemed to regain himself "oh, hey Lureen".

"hello Jess" she replied, walking over to him and giving him a hug as well "it's nice seein' you again".

"uh, yeah, same"

From over her shoulder, Ennis saw Jess and L.D. eyes meet. Jess gave him a huge smile, waving his hand and mouthing the word 'hi'. L.D.'s face flushed with red and he looked like he was ready to burst, Ennis smiling slightly. Damn, that kid did know how to piss people off.

"okay" Jack interjected "why don't you guys make yerselves at home. Can I get ya guys anythin?"

Lureen let go of Jess and turned to Jack "jus' a water is ok for me".

"L.D?" he asked, though L.D. seemed to have not heard him, choosing to just go to the living room.

"yes or no is the polite way to answer" Jess said. L.D whipped his head around to face him, seemingly turning two shades darker.

"daddy" Lureen said in a firm voice.

"beer" he spat, and stalked to the armchair.

Ennis saw Jack give Jess a stern look.

"he started it" Jess whispered, heading in to take a seat next to Bobby on the couch, Lureen taking the other armchair. Ennis taking the spot next to Bobby.

"so Bobby, how's school been goin?" asked Lureen.

"great, my grades have improved a lot" he replied "I'm up to a B minus now in English and Math".

"good job, I'm impressed" she said "have you applied to any colleges yet?"

Bobby rubbed his neck "not exactly".

"why not?" she asked.

"I dunno, I jus' thought maybe I'd wait a little bit" he replied.

"and how long would that be?"

"uh-"

Jack entered the room before he could give a response, handing Lureen a glass of water. She said thank you. He handed a beer bottle to L.D, who swiped it from his hands as if he didn't want to catch anything. There was no response from him. he took a seat next to Ennis, and as there bodies practically touch, he could feel the awkwardness set in, with Lureen gripping her glass slightly harder and L.D shifting in his seat, mouth grumbling inaudible words that Ennis knew were not the friendliest.

"did you do something different with the place?" Lureen said, trying to break the mood.

"yeah, we got some new furniture" said Jack "nothin' too fancy, but we had some extra money, so we thought it was time for some new stuff".

Lureen nodded "so I take it the business is goin' well then?"

"oh yeah, much better then we had anticipated" Jack said with pride "I mean, it wasn't like we were doin' bad before, we were pretty set, but now that we've expanded, we've been makin' more money then we've had the past five years combined".

"I'm very happy for you" she said.

"thanks Lureen".

She took a sip of water "Jack, why hasn't Bobby applied to any colleges yet?" Bobby shifted next to him, eyes casting downward, and Jack tensing up right next to him.

"yeah Jack" L.D. chimed in, a hint of snide in his voice. Of course, Ennis thought, the first real thing you say has to be to criticize us.

"I mean, with everythin' goin' so well, I would think you'd be pushin' college on the boy".

"ass" he heard Jess whisper.

"Lureen, L.D" Jack began "we had already discussed this with Bobby. He is still goin' to go to college, we wouldn't expect anythin' less. But he explained to us that he wanted to get his grades up first before he started applyin' to places".

Lureen nodded "ok, that seems understandable".

Ennis sighed a little. That was one bullet dodged. Looking over at L.D, he seemed a bit cross that the matter was so easily settled.

"and what about you guys? How are things in Childress?" Jack asked her.

"pretty good" she replied "my only problem is that our home business sales have been slumpin' a bit. I swear, it's so hard ta find a good salesmen these days".

"hey, not all of them can have my trademark charm" Jack said, L.D rolling his eyes at the remark.

"true" she said, her gaze turning towards Jess.

"so Jess, how have you been?" she asked "haven't talked ta ya in awhile".

Jess shrugged "pretty good, same old same old. The social worker said that I check out and Ennis is now my legal guardian".

"that's great" she said, "I take it they didn't have any problems with yer…situation then?" she directed towards Ennis.

"well, um, I didn't really go into much detail about…me and Jack" he said "I figured it was for the best".

"smart move" L.D. muttered. Shut the fuck up, Ennis thought, his fist clenching.

"Lance actually really likes Ennis" said Jess "you however, not so much".

"what?" L.D. shot.

"you should be getting a citation for child abuse in a few days" he continued, absently picking his nails.

"Jess!" Jack said "he's jokin', he's jokin', he doesn't mean it. in fact, Jess, Bobby, would you mind goin' ta set up dinner fer us?" Jess shrugged, following Bobby and the two making their way to the kitchen.

Quiet, tense, and uncomfertable. Ennis wanted nothing more then to just get out of this room and go someplace far away. Was this how the rest of the week was going to go? He thought, is this what we have to look forward to? And then just thinking about the whole coming out thing made his heart hurt. Lureen and L.D. still didn't know that he and Jack had finally told people. They, he and Jack, had agreed that at some point they would have to tell them since it only seemed fair, but in a perfect world, it would have just been Lureen. Ennis knew she wouldn't take it well, but other then that, she wouldn't really do anything. It was L.D. they were dreading. They knew no good would come out of that.

It seemed very apparent that it was becoming a bad idea.

Ennis really wished he had a beer right about now.

* * *

"I swear to god" said Jess as he grabbed a stack of plate "I don't think I can do it".

"I think you were doin' well in there" Bobby replied.

"but it's so hard. Just the look on that mans face makes me wanna rip him a knew one" said Jess "I was convinced he was gonna go off on that whole custody thing and I was ready to rip his throat out".

"do you think this was a mistake?" asked Bobby as he placed down glasses.

"yes"-replied Jess "I know Lureen means well but this is just a well intention mistake. You see it, she can barely look at Ennis, let alone acknowledge him. as for fat ass over there-"

"Jess, they are right over there" Bobby gestured.

He rolled his eyes "fucking family gatherings" he slammed the last plate down "that's L.D's"

"oh come on, it could be worse" said Bobby.

"or get there" Jess replied.

"so how did the send off go?" Bobby asked.

"wow, subtle much" he said "it went well. A few tears were shed, mostly by Lois".

"Lois ok?" asked Bobby.

"she is. You know how she gets" said Jess.

"you sure?"

"yeah, she will" he replied.

"I never really told ya but we should do some more nights like that" said Bobby "I mean, ain't like I got anythin' else ta do now. Besides, you guys are missin' a member now".

"hey, more the merrier" Jess said.

"yeah, I mean, Lois is a pretty cool girl"

"wow, I don't think I've heard you call her that before" Jess said.

"jus' saying. She's smart, fun ta be around, easy ta talk to"

"when she lets you get a word in" Jess noted.

"she's nice, funny, cute"

Jess stopped as he was about to pull out the main course "did you just say cute?"

"what, jus' sayin' was all" he said, lowering his head slightly

he set the oven tray down on the counter "why you so interested in Lois?"

Bobby shrugged "nothin" his cheeks began to redden slightly.

"are you blushing?" asked Jess.

"no, what are ya talkin' about" Bobby mumbled, turning away to grab the silverware.

Jess began to walk over "is there something you're not telling?"

"no, can ya jus' let off it" said Bobby, who was now intensely staring down where he placed the spoons.

Then it dawned on Jess "I knew I wasn't that drunk".

"what?" Bobby said.

"you like her!"

"what are ya talkin' about" Bobby said, moving to the opposite time of the table.

"Oh come on Bobby, you are terrible at hiding things like this" said Jess "you totally have a crush on her".

"and what if I do?" Bobby said, getting defensive.

"nothing, I don't care" said Jess "I mean, I just never would have thought you would fall for Lois. Besides, what about you and Tammy?"

"I think that's pretty much done with" Bobby said "she's like everyone else now. Can we not talk about this right now?"

"yeah, ok" said Jess "might as well get the food out before the fat one starts to complain".

Jess went back to the tray. Drama, drama, drama, he thought, I swear, never a dull moment in this town.


End file.
